Profile distributions of the biomass and population density of microorganisms in soddy-podzolic soils in the Kirov oblast

Profile distributions of the population density and biomass of the main groups of microorganisms in two acid soddy-podzolic soils and a cutover peatland were studied using luminescence microscopy. It was established that the total biomass (dry matter) of microorganisms in the profiles of studied soils varies from 2 to 18 t/ha. A close correlation between the accumulation of biomass in certain horizons and the soil acidity was established for soddy-podzolic soils. It was demonstrated that, even 32 years after the termination of peat extraction, main reserves of microbial biomass were concentrated in the surface layer of the naturally overgrown cutover peatland, and they were mainly represented by phototrophic microorganisms.