Abstract:
Teluk Meranti is one of the peatland ecosystems that most of the regions have been
converted into oil palm plantations, industrial forest plantation, and settlement.
Environmental conditions disrupted by the land conversions will affect the population,
diversity, and activity of soil microbes. The objective of the study was to analyze the
impact of land use changes to nitrogen fixing bacterial cells number. The nitrogen fixing
bacterial cells number was calculated by using a Total Plate Count (TPC) method. The
results showed that the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil ranged from 3,63-
4,00 for pH, temperature 27oC-31,5°C, dry weight 14,35-29,70%, water content 70,30-
85,70% and bulk density 0,15-0,39g/cm3. The nitrogen fixing symbiotic bacteria cells
number ranged from 3,6-10,0·104 CFU/g soil and the nitrogen fixing nonsymbiotic bacteria
cells number ranged from 0,78·10-1,8·104 CFU/g soil. Based on the results obtained, it can
be concluded that the soil quality in the Teluk Meranti is still capable enough to support the
sustainability of soil biological processes
