Effect of abandonment on diversity and abundance of free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria and total bacteria in the cropland soils of Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia.

ABSTRACT: In Inner Mongolia, steppe grasslands face desertification or degradation because of human over activity. One of the reasons for this condition is that croplands have been abandoned after inappropriate agricultural management. The soils in these croplands present heterogeneous environments in which conditions affecting microbial growth and diversity fluctuate widely in space and time. In this study, we assessed the molecular ecology of total and free-living nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities in soils from steppe grasslands and croplands that were abandoned for different periods (1, 5, and 25 years) and compared the degree of recovery. The abandoned croplands included in the study were natural restoration areas without human activity. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitati

SUBMITTER: Huhe 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4182089 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature