This paper describes the response of fungi as well as β-glucosidase and arylsulfatase to soil contamination with the herbicides Alister Grande 190 OD, Fuego 500 SC, and Lumax 537.5 SE in the following doses: 1 – recommended dose, and doses 20-, 40-, 80-, and 160-fold higher than the recommended one. A laboratory experiment in three replicates was conducted on sandy loam of the pH_KCl – 7.0. The results have indicated that counts of fungi increased under the influence of excessive quantities of the tested herbicides. Irrespective of herbicide type, EP decreased while CD increased at higher contamination doses.
With respect to the enzymes, the herbicides were observed to have exerted a negative effect on the activity of arylsulfatase, which was verified by the negative correlation coefficients. However, the activity of β-glucosidase increased after the soil had been enriched with excessive amounts of the herbicides. The RS index for the activity of the enzymes varied, but reached the highest value in soil with Alister Grande 190 OD for both β-glucosidase (0.953) and arylsulfatase (0.567). The contamination of soil with the herbicides caused lasting changes in sandy loam, but the recovery of the enzyme β-glucosidase was faster (the average RL ranged from 0.458 to 0.889). The index of resilience for arylsulfatase was negative, which proves that the adverse effect of all the herbicides on this enzyme was growing.