Distribution of microbial biomass and activity of extracellular enzymes in a hardwood forest soil reflect soil moisture content

▶ Soil moisture shows high level of spatial variation in hardwood forest topsoil. ▶ Fungal and bacterial biomass in forest topsoil increases with moisture content. ▶ Effects of moisture on enzyme activities are mediated by microbial biomass content. ▶ Moisture content explains high proportion of variation in soil microbial parameters.