Lm. Polyanskaya et al., DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION AND BIOMASS OF MICROORGANISMS WITH REGARD TO PROFILES OF ZONAL TYPES, Eurasian soil science, 28(5), 1996, pp. 85-94
The total reserves of biomass in four zonal soil types is estimated fo
r the first time. A definite correlation is noted between the biomass
reserves in soils and the potential respiration intensity. The reserve
s of microbial biomass are represented mainly by the biomass of eukary
otes (88-99 percent), while the biomass of prokaryotes ranges from 1 p
ercent (Chestnut soil) to 12 percent (Gray Forest soil). According to
biomass reserves, the investigated soils form the following series in
ascending order: Gray Forest (5.7 metric tons/hectare), Sod-Podzolic (
14 metric tons/hectare), Chernozem (15 metric tons/hectare), and Chest
nut (32 metric tons/hectare). The biomass of soil microbial cenoses is
not concentrated primarily in the upper soil horizons, but relatively
evenly distributed throughout the profile.