Suppression of soil microorganisms by emissions of a magnesite plant in the Slovak Republic

In April 1996, we collected soil samples in the vicinity of a magnesite pla nt at Lubenik, southern Slovakia, and screened them for soil microbial biom ass and activity. Six investigated sites were chosen along a transect, with distances ranging from 600 to 8000 m from the plant, to represent a gradie nt of intoxication. Soil microbial cellulase activity, respiration, biomass , metabolic quotient of the soil microbiota, and numbers of platable fungi increased with increasing distance from the plant, i.e. decreasing degree o f intoxication. The observed gradients of soil microbial characteristics of the investigated sites reflect the physico-chemical soil parameters and th e floristic characteristics of these sites, and may be used to predict tran sitory changes during amelioration.