The results showed that the microbial process of
carbon mineralization was inhibited to varied extents
by the metals (Table 4). In other words, carbon was
accumulated. Among the treatments,Cu had the highest
rate at 6.03 % followed by Cu:Zn which was 5.80 % by
the end of the experiment. The least value (5.36 %) was
obtained in the Cu:Ni treated soil. The other treatments
except Ni showed subtle interference with the key
microbial process but the level was insignificant
(P>0.05) (Table 4).