Abstract
The study is focused on microbiological analyses in polar soils in selected monitoring sites in Livingstone Island, Antarctica region. The analyses include determination of the quantity and qualitative composition of the heterotrophic block of soil microflora (non-spore-forming bacteria, bacilli, actinomycetes, micromycetes, bacteria absorbing mineral nitrogen), insofar as it plays a major role in the element cycling and soil formation processes. Aerobic (rapidly and slowly growing) and anaerobic groups of soil microorganisms were investigated and the biogenicity (total microflora) and the rate of mineralisation processes (mineralisation coefficient) were determined. Mostly non-spore-forming aerobic bacteria, followed by actinomycetes, are dominant in determining the biogenicity of the studied polar soils. The rearrangement of the microorganisms in the composition of the total microflora by degree of dominance indicates the participation of all the studied groups of microorganisms in most sites in the initial and final stages of the decomposition of organic matter. The mineralisation of soils is most active in sites with vegetation cover. The established pigmentation in aerobic microorganisms is probably due to their good adaptation and protection under extreme polar conditions, while the absence of oxygen impedes the formation of pigments.
Highlights
The soil microflora in Antarctica have been intensively studied by a number of scientists in recent decades
The biogenicity of the studied polar soils as expected was low and of varying intensity at individual sites, depending on the presence of vegetation and sampling depth
The results show that the ratio of aerobes to anaerobes is highest in soils under lichen, ie. the amount of anaerobes decreases most strongly at these sites - from 29 times in soil under lichen to 48 times in soil under black lichen, as well as in sites with "moss + grass" vegetation cover - from the complete absence of anaerobes to a reduction of 24 times that of the aerobes
Summary
The soil microflora in Antarctica have been intensively studied by a number of scientists in recent decades. A general trend of the studies is the heterogeneity of microbial communities from different parts of the continent. Dominant bacterial genera were isolated and less common, including extremophiles, bacterial biomass and structure of their communities were analysed (Cowan et al 2014Vincent 1988, Vincent 2004, Saul et al 2005, Aislabie et al 2006, Aislabie et al 2008, Aislabie et al 2009, Aislabie et al 2013). Microbial diversity in different parts of the continent and in different habitats has been determined, with most researchers reporting specificities in the diversity of microbes depending on the specific physicochemical parameters of the environment, the presence of vegetation and altitude (Chong et al 2012, Chong et al 2011). Bacteroidetes species dominate in mossy areas and have been isolated from the soils of Livingston Island (Ganzert et al 2011)
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