succession rate

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL STATE OF THE SOIL MICROBIOTA IN CHEMICALLY POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT

The structural-functional diversity of main ecological trophic groups of soil microorganisms in the meadow soils of the Central Urals, anthropogenically contaminated with heavy metals, was studied. The growth of the total numbers of these microorganisms in technozems, in comparison with those in agrozems, is due to the higher abundance of ferric-reducing, denitrifying, nitrogen-fixing and sulphate-reducing bacteria; the increased cellulolytic activity, and the dependence of these characteristics on the soil toxic load.