Methane production and growth of microorganisms under different moisture conditions in soils with added chitin and without it

The limits of soil moisture providing the possibility of methane production and growth of microorganisms in soils with added chitin and without it were determined. Samples of gray forest, soddy-podzolic, gley taiga, chestnut, and chernozemic soils were studied. It was found that methane emission increases significantly under a high soil moisture content in the presence of chitin. The increase of the soil moisture up to the maximum water-holding capacity enhanced the emission of methane by two-six times. The dynamics of the methane emission from the soils in the course of microbial successions initiated by the addition of chitin or by the soil moistening to different levels were studied by the gas-chromatographic method. The population density and biomass of fungal, bacterial, and actinomycetic complexes under different moister levels were studied by the method of luminescent microscopy. It was determined that many microorganisms participate in the transformation of chitin in the soil under conditions of oxygen deficiency (upon the increased moisture content). Prokaryotes dominated by actinomycetes were the group that increased its biomass most actively (the biomass doubling took place).