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Enumeration and characterization of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in a stripmine site

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Summary

Nitrogen-fixing heterotrophic bacteria were isolated from a stripmine reclamation site in western North Dakota. Of 232 isolates, 164 wereBacillus spp., 38 were members of the Enterobacteriaceae, and 21 wereClostridium spp. Single isolates ofAzotobacter chroococcum andAzospirillum lipoferum were identified, as were several isolates considered to beXanthobacter autotrophicum. Fewer nitrogen-fixing bacteria adhered to the root system of crested wheatgrass (Agropyrum desertorum) in sites with replaced topsoil than in sites with no topsoil. Several media and techniques were compared in enumeration of nitrogen fixers by most probable numbers.

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Jacobs, M.J., Funke, B.R. & Merrill, S.D. Enumeration and characterization of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in a stripmine site. Plant Soil 84, 3–10 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02197861

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