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The ratio of fungi and bacteria in the biomass of different types of soil determined by selective inhibition

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Abstract

Tundra, chernozem (virgin and arable), soddy-podzolic (coniferous forest, meadow, and arable), and grey forest (larch forest) soils were used to separate the contributions of fungi and bacteria to substrate-induced respiration (SIR) with the help of antibiotics. For soils with a high content of organic matter (tundra and chernozem: 12 and 8%, respectively), the procedure of selective inhibition of SIR has been optimized. This procedure consists in application of high concentrations of streptomycin (50–120 mg/g of soil) and cycloheximide (50–80 mg/g of soil) and decreasing the weight of the analyzed soil sample. Soils under study have shown the predominant contribution of fungi (63–82%) to the total SIR. The fungal-bacterial ratio in the soils of natural ecosystems (0–5 cm, without litter) was 4.3, 2.2, 1.5, and 1.5 for tundra soil, virgin chernozem, coniferous (soddy-podzolic soil), and larch (grey forest soil) forests, respectively. The lower layers of soddy-podzolic (5–10 cm) and grey forest (48–58 cm) soils showed a decrease in the fungal and increase in the bacterial component in the total SIR.

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Correspondence to N. D. Ananyeva.

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Original Russian Text © N.D. Ananyeva, E.A. Susyan, O.V. Chernova, I.Yu. Chernov, O.L. Makarova, 2006, published in Mikrobiologiya, 2006, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 807–813.

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Ananyeva, N.D., Susyan, E.A., Chernova, O.V. et al. The ratio of fungi and bacteria in the biomass of different types of soil determined by selective inhibition. Microbiology 75, 702–707 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261706060130

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