PECULIARITIES OF MICROBIAL SUCCESSIONS IN THE SOIL IN RELATION TO MOISTURE LEVEL

Successional changes in microbial complexes of soddy-podzolic soils in relation to soil moisture are discussed. Different microbial communit ies are formed in the same soil depending on the soil moistening in th e range from -0.005 to -5 MPa of soil moisture pressure. The main tren d is connected with the expressed decrease in the relative activity of fungi and an increase in bacteria activity under increasing pressure of soil moisture. The character of the dynamics of soil populations of B. megaterium and B. cereus and their response to the level of soil m oisture differed significantly. In this context, the conclusion was ma de that these populations demonstrated different environmental strateg ies. The possibility to assess the state of a microbial complex on the basis of physical properties of the soil is shown.