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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
The Australian Black Wattle (A. mearnsii), an invasive alien species introduced in the upper altitudes of the Palani hills threatens the high altitude ecosystem The present investigation was undertaken to study the soil microbial population in shola forests invaded by A. mearnsii plantations in the Western Ghats covering the Kodaikanal. Soil samples were collected from shola forests invaded by A. mearnsii in three forest ranges viz, Kodaikanal, Berijam and Poombarai of the Kodaikanal Forest Division. For comparison purpose, soil samples were collected from shola forest, pure A. mearnsii plantation, grass land and pine plantations. The study showed a significant variation in the microbial population in the different study plots with the highest bacterial (29.3 x108 cfu g-1), fungal (15.0 x104 cfu g-1) and actinomycetes (3.0 x103 cfu g-1) population in shola forest in all the three ranges of Kodaikanal Forest Division. The population of soil microbes in Berijam and Poombarai forest range was also high under shola forests. This study has contributed to the understanding of soil microbial population in A. mearnsii invaded shola forests.
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