Comparison of Topsoil Microbial Populations in Vegetation Systems of Southwestern Nigeria during Dry and Wet Seasons

Abstract

The abundance of culturable aerobic heterotrophic bacteria and fungi, as well as some physicochemical parameters of the topsoils of vegetation systems, were assessed during the dry and wet seasons of 1996. The physicochemical parameters did not vary significantly among the plots. Bacterial populations ranged from 104 to 107 cfu/g, while fungal counts were in the order of 104 cfu/g. Bacteria densities and the bacteria/fungi ratio were higher during the wet season, while the fungal counts were consistently lower than bacterial counts in all cases. The bacterial and fungal species isolated did not follow any defined distribution pattern. © 1999, Japanese Society of Microbial Ecology & The Japanese Society of Soil Microbiology. All rights reserved.