Enumeration of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in grassland soils using a Most Probable Number technique: Effect of nitrite concentration and sampling procedure

Numbers of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were determined in grassland soils using a Most Probable Number technique. Two concentrations of nitrite were used in the incubation medium, i.e. 0.05 and 5.0 mM. The results of the enumerations were highly dependent on the nitrite concentration as well as on the grassland soil sampled. In the one soil the highest numbers were counted with 5.0 mM, whereas in other soils highest numbers were obtained in media with 0.05 mM nitrite. The spatial distribution of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria was determined i two field plots. Variation between individual samples was low in one plot and high in the other. The implications of the observed differences for the sampling procedure in each sampling plot are discussed. In the waterlogged, oxygen-limited soils, numbers of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were as high as in the drained soils. The chemolitho-autotrophic nature of these nitrifiers has been confirmed.