Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXVI, Issue 1
Written by Irina SENICOVSCAIA, Andriana DANILOV, Andrei DANILOV
The profile of vertical distributions of microbial biomass and its correlation with organic carbon in the brown and gray forest soils of the Republic of Moldova have been investigated in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Sampling was carried out in 10 profiles per soil horizons to a depth of 170-200 cm. Microbial biomass constituted in brown forest natural soils 367.5-643.1 µg C g-1 soil and in gray forest natural soils 322.7-828.6 µg C g-1 soil in the top layer. The negative effects on soil microbial biomass were observed as a result of long-term land management practices. Microbial biomass decreased in brown forest arable soils to the level of 91.6-116.4 µg С g-1 of soil and in gray forest arable soils - to 117.1-283.0 µg С g-1of soil in the arable layer. Microbial biomass was connected with the humus content. Correlation coefficients constituted 0.98-0.99 in brown forest soils and 0.82-0.91 in gray forest soils. The link effect between microbial biomass and humus content decreased from virgin to arable soils. A negative link has been established with profile depth.
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