Abstract
The study aimed to evaluate the changes in the quantitative composition of a soil bacterial community near a municipal waste landfill, and attempted to use a bacteriological coefficient to assess the degree of soil degradation. The research was carried out near a landfill site located in southern Poland. Soil samples were collected from plots on which spring wheat, field bean and potato were cultivated. Microbiological analyses included the determination of the total number of bacteria in active and dormant (sporulating) stages. The highest ratio of sporulating bacteria in relation to vegetative bacteria was found in the reclaimed sector of the landfill site. The proposed bacteriological indicator of soil quality (i.e., the ratio of the number of sporulating bacteria to the number of vegetative forms) seems to be a good index for the assessment of soil quality near the landfill site.
Highlights
Municipal waste deposited in landfills and related habitats are still one of the most serious problems of modern civilization
It should be emphasized that the basic microbiological parameters used in the assessment of the ecological condition of soils include the total number of bacteria [19]
In the case of plots located outside the landfill site, the numbers of bacterial vegetative forms were in the range of 27.1–492.2 × 104 cfu g−1 dry soil for the cultivation of wheat, 13.6–416.0 × 104 cfu g−1 dry soil for the cultivation of horse beans and from 29.6 190 to 578.2 × 104 cfu g−1 dry soil for potato cultivation
Summary
Municipal waste deposited in landfills and related habitats are still one of the most serious problems of modern civilization They are almost always treated as a significant threat to all living organisms, including humans. Soil microbiota is an important component of biocenosis, and it is susceptible to changes in environmental parameters This sensitivity is related to the diversity of microbial biochemical functions and their high physiological activity. Soil microorganisms are the factor that, together with plant cover, determines both the direction and nature of biochemical processes as well as all physicochemical changes related to biological activities in arable soils The result of their activity is the mineralization and humification of various organic compounds (including the synthesis of humus), and the activation of many mineral compounds that are fundamental for soil plants and animals [10,12]
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