AbstractsBiology & Animal Science

A soil microbial response to urban wastewater application : bacterial communities and soil salinity

by Jane Tracy Aiken




Institution: University of Western Sydney
Department:
Degree: PhD
Year: 0
Keywords: soil microbiology; research; methodology; microbial ecology; wastewater management; water reuse; Australia
Record ID: 1043014
Full text PDF: http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/29055


Abstract

Soils research at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury Campus, was undertaken to investigate bacterial communities and soil salinity in an applied study. Microbial ecology was used to inform an understanding of conditions in soil irrigated with treated effluent. Several hypotheses were investigated examining changes in ecological organization conducted under laboratory and field conditions. Results indicated that relative abundance distributions for candidate forms of the bacteria community associated with higher and lower salinity, as defined using canonical correlation analysis, were reproducible between laboratory incubation experiments and field samples. The investigation is the first to apply the ecological parameter of richness and abundance to a study of microbial communities and their environment in order to determine soil conditions for sites irrigated with treated effluent. The thesis tests the theory and application of applying quantitative ecology to microbial community analysis. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)