The data consists of potential activity of enzymes released by microorganisms in soils of old growth forests in the Central Amazon. Soils were sampled in January 2018, seven months after nutrient addition in a large-scale nutrient fertilisation experiment. Enzyme activities are given as a mean of the microbial community per plot, where five points inside each plot were sampled in the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soil layers. The dataset depicts the potential activities of the following enzymes: ß-glucosidase, N-acetyl ß-glucosaminidase and phosphomonoesterase at two different soil depths. Samples were collected at the AFEX project area in Manaus, Brazil at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP/ INPA). The study was funded by NERC, BDFFP (logistical support) and Brazilian government (student scholarship). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b9a2523e-09ba-43c7-acfa-a894a231b133