Post-Cold-Storage Conditioning Time Affects Soil Denitrifying Enzyme Activity

Soil denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA) is often assessed after cold storage. Previous studies using the short-term acetylene inhibition method have not considered conditioning time (post-cold-storage warm-up time prior to soil analysis) as a factor influencing results. We observed fluctuations in DEA following cold storage, suggesting a need to consider conditioning time when planning and interpreting results.