Assessment of Water Quality Parameters and Identification of Microbial Diversity in the High Altitude Sacred Lake Dodi Tal, Garhwal Himalaya

Samples of water were carefully collected in autoclaved sample bottles from sacred Lake Dodi Tal located at a very high altitude in the Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand State in India from November 2014 to October 2015 for ten months. Samples of water were collected at a depth of 10 cm in two sampling operations each year. The sampling was done to isolate and identify the possible microbial diversity including bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi. Apart from microbial diversity, a total of twenty-one physical and chemical environmental variables of water samples collected from this high-altitude Lake Dodi Tal were recorded. In the collected water samples of Dodi Tal, a total of eight bacterial species, five species of actinomycetes and five species of fungi were recorded. The current maiden research work on the measurement of physicochemical characteristics and estimation of microbial diversity of high-altitude Lake Dodi Tal can be a good reference for the researchers who are working in the similar discipline and on related aspects. The recorded data from the current study will also help the government officials and decision formulators to formulate effective and efficient policies for the conservation and management of this very important high altitude lake Dodi Tal, as this lake provides water to its nearby residents, tourists, sages, trekkers and wild animals for consumption and various recreation activities. © 2020. All Rights Reserved.