Microbial activity of peat soils of boggy larch forests and bogs in the permafrost zone of central Evenkia

• Published in: Eurasian soil science Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 61 - 73
• Main Authors: Grodnitskaya, I. D., Karpenko, L. V., Knorre, A. A., Syrtsov, S. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acidity; Bogs; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Forest soils; Forests and forestry; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Larix; Microbial activity; Microorganisms; Organic matter; Peat; Peat soils; Permafrost; Soil acidity; Soil Biology; Soil microbiology; Soil microorganisms; Soil sciences; Soil temperature; Soils; Russia, Evenkiyskiy, Tunguska R; boggy larch forests; oligo-mesotrophic bog; microbiological activity; SIR method; cryogenic soils
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229313010043

The microbial activity of peat soils was studied in boggy larch forests and in an oligo-mesotrophic bog in the basins of the Kochechum and Nizhnaya Tunguska rivers (central Evenkia). It was found that the organic matter transformation in the peat soils of all the plots is mainly performed by oligotrophic bacteria composing 88–98% of the total bacterial complex. The major contribution to the organic matter destruction belonged to the heterotrophic microorganisms, the activity of which depended on the permafrost depth and the soil temperature, the soil acidity, and the botanical composition of the peat. Peat soils were characterized by different activities as judged from their microbiological and biochemical parameters. The functioning of microbial communities in the studied ecotopes of the permafrost zone was within the range of natural variations, which pointed to their ecological stability.