MONITORING DAMPAK KONVERSI LAHAN GAMBUT TERHADAP POPULASI MIKROBA

Abstract

Peatlands in the Biosphere Reserve Giam Siak Kecil- Bukit Batu (GSK-BB), Riau are mostly converted into Timber Plantation (TP) Acacia sp., oil palm plantation, rubber plantation and settlements. Peatland conversion will affect the population and soil microbial activity. Population and soil microbial activity are indicators that are sensitive to soil quality. This research aimed to monitor the impact of peatland conversion into a TP Acacia sp., oil palm plantation, rubber plantation, restoration land and burn land through soil physicochemical was determined using standard method and total microbial population of bacterial and fungi was quantified using Total Plate Count (TPC) method. Soil samples were taken in six different locations, namely secondary forest, TP Acacia sp., oil palm plantation, rubber plantation, restored land, burned land. Soil physicochemical character varies with pH, temperature, weight of volume, dry weight, and water content ranged from 3,23- 4,23, 27,0 – 30,25 oC, 0,20- 0,29 gr/cm3, 0,20- 0,31 g dan 221,97- 401,98 %. Total population of Bacteria ranged from 7,60-13,20 x105 CFU/g soils. Total population of Fungi ranged from 2,80- 5,90 x104 CFU/g soils. Bacteria and fungi populations on converted land tended to be higher than in secondary forest. The result showed that land conversion affected the total population of bacteria and fungi. On other hand, the effect of peatland conversion on soil physicochemical character did not show a clear trend. Therefore, bacteria and fungi populations can be used as indicators of peatland quality.