Preliminary results of the application of two methods for studying soil diatoms

Abstract

Preliminary results of applying two methods for isolating diatoms from the soil that were used during the study of soil algae of the Zvenigorod Biological Station of Moscow State University are presented in this paper. The authors compare the classical method of moist chambers with fouling glasses and the method of isolating diatoms from the soil using moist plates with gauze placed on the surface of the soil. The methods were used to isolate diatoms from soil samples taken in two biotopes – in a birch forest and in a river floodplain. It has been shown that the main advantage of the method of fouling glasses is the reception of additional data on the active life of algae in the soil, since many algae form clones on the surface of the glass as a result of cell division. At the same time, with the help of gauze cultures, it is possible to obtain preparations that contain more material of better quality, since the shells of diatoms can be better cleaned from organics using this method. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and to obtain more complete results, the authors recommend using them together.