Influence of Dairy Waste Application on Soil Microbial Communities. (3971)
Authors:
D.K. Mills* - Florida International University J.A. Entry - USDA-ARS
K. Mathee - Florida Intl. University A.B. Leytem - USDA ARS
Abstract:
We hypothesized that the addition of dairy waste and compost to southern Idaho soils would affect soil bacterial communities. The study was arranged in a split plot design with four replications. Soils were treated with:1) 24.4 Mg ha -2 solid dairy waste, 2) 32.9 Mg ha -2 composted solid dairy waste, 3) 125 kg N and 58.5 kg P ha -2 inorganic fertilizer and 4) control (no amendment) with half of each plot
receiving 4.25 kg ha -2 alum. Soils were sampled at 0-10 cm depths. We
determined the influence of dairy waste application on soil microbial community structure using polymerase chain reaction with amplicon length hetreogenity (LH-PCR). The application of the ALH technique as a monitoring tool for
microbial ecology has been shown to enhance and extend the current understanding of the structural dynamics of microbial communities in their specific environments.
Our preliminary results show that the addition of inorganic fertilizer and compost with or without alum did not affect bacterial communities. The addition of dairy manure appeared to change bacterial diversity patterns. When alum was added with dairy manure bacterial community patterns changed dramatically with an obvious suppression of the amplicons most commonly representing the alpha-proteobacteria group. The addition of alum with dairy manure may indicate a shift in the
functional community and could have an overall impact on the structural diversity of soil eubacterial community.
Speaker Information: DeEtta Mills, Florida International University, Department of Biological Sciences University Park Campus, Miami, FL 33199; Phone: 305 348-7410;
E-mail: [email protected]
Session Information: Tuesday, November 2, 2004, 8:00 AM-10:00 AM Presentation Start: 8:00 AM (Poster Board Number: 2711)
