| Incubation studies were carried out to evaluate the effect of temperature and urea supply level on both the urease activity and the kinetics of N mineralization in two Andisols of Southern Chile. Our results showed that urease activity was higher in Piedras Negras soil (PNS) than Freiré soil (FS) at 24 and 48 h, and the enzyme was activated when the temperature increased from 5 to 21 °C. Urease activity followed a simple Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In PNS, the Michaelis Menten constant (Km) decreased, whereas the maximum enzyme reaction velocity (Vmax) and the catalytic efficiency increased when the temperature was raised up to 21 °C at 24 and 48 h of soil incubation. In FS, urease activity was the highest at 24 h, and it decreased at 48 h as a consequence... |
