Abstract
In the Sundarban Mangrove forest microbial activities are dominantly involved in both the mineralization and decomposition processes that regulate nutrient profile in soil of different depth. It was found that besides changing the water and soil quality, monsoonal cycle plays a crucial role in regulating microbial population distribution in the mangrove soil. Statistical analyses revealed that organic carbon was the most significant factor that regulated the total microbial population. The cellulose degrading bacteria, [mean value of CFU 14.32 × 106 (gm dry weight of soil)–1] was dominant throughout the year. The sulfate reducing bacteria showed an increasing trend along depth with a minimum value at the surface i.e. 6.113 × 106 (gm dry weight of soil)–1 and 12.312 × 106 (gm dry weight of soil)–1 at a depth of 60 cm. Intensification of monsoonal cycle could heavily affect microbe dominated soil biogeochemistry and subsequent change in the regional ecology of the Sundarban Mangrove Forest.
Highlights
Mangroves are highly productive marine ecosystem where bacteria actively take part in biomineralization and biotransformation of minerals [1]
It was found that besides changing the water and soil quality, monsoonal cycle plays a crucial role in regulating microbial population distribution in the mangrove soil
Statistical analyses revealed that organic carbon was the most significant factor that regulated the total microbial population
Summary
Mangroves are highly productive marine ecosystem where bacteria actively take part in biomineralization and biotransformation of minerals [1]. Most investigations of anaerobic metabolism in natural ecosystem have dealt with sulfate rich marine soils where sulfate reduction is the dominating process or eutrophic lake soils where sulfate and nitrate are depleted in the hypolimnionn and in the superficial soil layers leaving terminal carbon mineralization principally to methane producing bacteria [10,11,12]. Methanotrophs are a subset of a physiological group of bacteria known as methylotrophs They are unique in their ability to utilize methane as a source of carbon and energy [14]. Nitrogen fixing bacteria are the other group of bacteria that are involved in formation of ammonia or organic nitrogen from atmospheric nitrogen They may be free-living or symbiotic in Nature.
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