| OCR Text |
Show Algae and Azotobacter Characteristics of Soils at the Base of the Wasatch Mountains in Utah Valley! By HOWARD B. PETERSON and THOMAS L. MARTIN Purpose: To determine the presence and distribution of Azotobacter and algae in the soils at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. Method: Soil samples were selected from sixteen different areas along the foothills of Utah Valley. These samples were secured from the A, B, and C zones. Soil plaques, with suitable nutrients, were used to determine the pres ence of Azotobacter in these soils. For determining numbers of algae, different dilutions of soils were made in suitable algal medium. Slides were made of the growths in the dilutions and from these the kinds of algae were determined. east Results: Azotobacter number of C were zone found in the A and B zones of all soils studied. A samples showed the presence of Azotobacter, Algae were found in all the A zones studied. Some of the Band C zones showed the presence of algae. At a depth as low as four feet, algae were found. As many as 500,000 per gram were found in A zone samples. Algae results showed that Anabaena, Chlorococcum, Protococcus, Oscillatoria, Nodu laria, N ostoc, Lyngbya and Diatoms to be present. There are no comparisons to be made from these results because the Azotobacter and algae content of native soils in the west have not been re ported before. The presence of Azotobacter and the number of depths of algae are quite interesting. It would appear that these soils, biologically speaking, are satisfactory from the soil fertility viewpoint. _ 1 Contribution from the Department of Agronomy, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. 29 |
