National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Forest ecosystems are among the most complex and heterogeneous terrestrial environments. Such heterogeneity is probably due to limited anthropogenic intervention and the perennial status of the primary producers especially forest trees. Soil microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes etc.) play a vital role in biogeochemical cycling in forest soils maintaining life on earth, fixing gases and breaking down of dead plant and animal matter into simpler substances that are used at the beginning of the food chain. Study on such organisms is crucial in understanding their roles and functions in forest ecosystem. Therefore, four differently managed Quercus leucotrichophora forests types viz. Reserved Forest (RF), Protected Forest (PF), Unclassified Forest (UF) and Musterqua Forest (MF)) at Rajgarh Forest Division in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh were investigated to explore the effect of management regimes and elevational gradient on soil microbial population. In each forest types along the elevation gradient, composite soil samples were collected from tree rhizosphere zone and also from between the tree spaces up to the depth of 0-30cm to study microbial population and physico-chemical properties. The present study results revealed that microbial population in differently managed Q. leucotrichophora forests decreased significantly in the order Reserved Forest > Protected Forest > Unclassified Forest > Musterqua Forest. Bacterial and actinomycetes population count showed positive increasing trend along the elevation gradient while fungi exhibited reverse trend. Furthermore, correlation study suggested that microbial population showed positive relationship with Electrical conductivity (EC) and Soil organic Carbon (SOC) while negative response with soil pH and Bulk Density (BD). Thus, these Quercus forests sheltered substantial soil microbes which varied significantly according to the management regimes and elevation gradient exhibiting great influence on its population.
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