ENUMERASI TOTAL POPULASI BAKTERI PENAMBAT NITROGEN (N) TANAH GAMBUT DI TELUK MERANTI

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