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Cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation in arid soils of Central Australia |
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| Authors: | Geoffrey D. Smith Ronald M. Lynch Gerry Jacobson Christopher J. Barnes |
| Affiliation: | Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia;Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Canberra, Australia;C.S.I.R.O. Division of Water Resources Research, Canberra, Australia |
| Abstract: | Abstract The distribution of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria was studied in two regions of Central Australia, one near Yulara and the other in the Ti-Tree Basin. Soil and other samples were tested in situ for nitrogen fixation by the acethylene reduction assay. They were then enriched in low light in suitable growth medium containing no fixed carbon or nitrogen over a period of months. The cyanobacterial components were identified and their nitrogen-fixing capacity measured again both in the light and in darkness. It is concluded that a variety of genera of cyanobacteria survive in the arid region of Central Australia and can be assumed to contribute fixed nitrogen to the soils of the region. |
| Keywords: | Cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation Cyanobacteria Arid soils |