The character and intensity of anthropogenic impact considerably affec
t the abundance, biomass, and distribution of microbes along the soil
profile. Soil cultivation results in the overall reduction of microbia
l biomass, initially of the fungal mycelium, which is evident from the
data on the reduction of fungal species diversity in cultivated soil,
By a number of microbiological parameters, garden soil differs greatl
y from the arable soil and is similar to the forest one. Liming exerts
the strongest depressing effect both on the total microbial and the f
ungal mycelium content, The percentage of spore biomass and fungal myc
elium biomass in the main components of the microbial community is muc
h the same, Drastic shifts in the abundance and composition of soil mi
crobes in cultivated soil attest to the disturbance of natural process
es of productivity maintenance. The obtained data allow us to quantify
the consequences of anthropogenic pressure on the soil microbial comm
unity.