Molecular Methods For The Examination Of Soil Microbial Communities In The Coastal Plain Of Georgia.

Soil microbial community structure of two types of forest (pine and oak) and two conventional agricultural fields with three different crops (tomato, cabbage, and watermelon) from the Coastal Plain of Georgia were analyzed using molecular techniques. The operational taxonomic units (OTU’s) obtained by length heterogeneity PCR (LH-PCR) and cluster analysis by PRIMER-E revealed patterns of microbial community similarity within forest and agricultural soils respectively as well as distinct differences between them. Based on analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), soil microbial communities (bacterial, fungal and animal) were significantly different between forest and agricultural fields. Conventional farm fungal communities displayed distinct variation based on farm locations as well as different crop type. Bacterial communities, however, were only distinct by farm location, not by crop type within the same farm field. In contrast, there was no distinct separation in animal communities. Further studies will concentrate on the microbial community changes in the transitions from forest to agricultural practices and their effects on ecosystem stability.