Studies on mineralization of mangrove leaf litter by consortium of adhered bacterial isolates from mangrove ecosystem of Goa, India

Abstract

The mangrove ecosystem faces a constant influx of tides due to which the particle attached/ adhered bacteria play a crucial role in the degradation and recycling of nutrients. Mineralization involves degradation of macromolecules like proteins and sugars into simple compounds accompanied by loss in the weight of the plant leaf litter. In this research work, adhered bacterial isolates from the mangroves that produced various enzymes that degraded complex plant polymers were selected and the role of these isolates as a consortium was studied in the mineralization plant leaf litter from the mangrove ecosystem. In the presence of the bacterial consortium the weight of the plant litter decreased by 4 percent and the proteins and the sugar content increased by 15 percent and 12 percent respectively. The bacterial consortium when added to unsterile soil showed a remarkable decrease in the weight of plant litter of 35 percent and an elevation of sugar and protein content of 69 percent and 82 percent respectively. Hence in the present study it appeared that the presence of bacterial consortium enhanced mineralisation of plant litter and therefore this consortium can find use in solid and agricultural waste management.