Keywords: Soil ecology; Molecular microbial ecology; Soil health; Soil quality; PLFA analysis; Community-level physiological .... Most commonly, multivariate statistical techniques are ... appropriate for use with soil microbial communities.
Applied Soil Ecology 15 (2000) 25–36
Methods for assessing the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities G.T. Hill a,∗ , N.A. Mitkowski a , L. Aldrich-Wolfe b , L.R. Emele a , D.D. Jurkonie a , A. Ficke a , S. Maldonado-Ramirez a , S.T. Lynch a , E.B. Nelson a a
b
Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA Department of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Abstract Soil microorganisms play important roles in soil quality and plant productivity. The development of effective methods for studying the diversity, distribution, and behavior of microorganisms in soil habitats is essential for a broader understanding of soil health. Traditionally, the analysis of soil microbial communities has relied on culturing techniques using a variety of culture media designed to maximize the recovery of diverse microbial populations. However, only a small fraction (
