MICROBIAL COMMUNITY OF THE LUMBRICUS-TERRESTRIS L EARTHWORM BURROW WALLS

The density and taxonomic structure of the microbial community in the L, terrestris earthworm burrow walls (drilosphere) were studied by dir ect luminescent microscopy and the plating method. The total length of fungal hyphae and the number of germinating hyphae were 1.5-2 times l ower in the burrow walls than in the surrounding soil. Contrarily, the number of bacterial cells was 3.5-10 times higher in the drilosphere than in the intact soil. Bacteria of the genera Aquaspirillum and Cyto phaga invariably predominated in the saprotrophic bacterial community at a distance of 2 mm from the burrow. At distances of 5 and 10 mm fro m the burrow, the taxonomic structure of the bacterial community was h ighly diverse and varied significantly depending on the season. The vo lume of the drilosphere reaches 1-2% of the accumulative horizon; this locus plays an important role in the formation and functioning of the soil microbial community.