Population density and total biomass of microbial communities in chestnut soils and solonetzes of the dry steppe zone in the Lower Volga region

Abstract

The population density and total biomass of microbial communities were determined in chestnut soils and solonetzes of the dry steppe zone in the Lower Volga region with the use of the methods of sequential fractionation of the soil and direct counting. The mean weighted values of the population density of the microbial communities in the soil profiles (A1 + B1 + B2 horizons) in the studied soils varied within 3.8–8.0 × 1011 cells/g of soil. The total microbial biomass in the soils of the Privolzhskaya Upland reached 0.9–2.4 mg C/g of soil; in the soils of the Ergeni Upland, it was 20 to 75% lower. The microbial cells in the soils of the Privolzhskaya Upland were larger than those in the soils of the Ergeni Upland. Sequential fractionation of the soil prior to direct counting contributed to the more complete assessment of the population density of the microbial communities.