The Role of Microorganisms in Biogenic Elements Cycling in the Dry Steppe Ecosystems of Central Asia

The following primary variables were studied in order to understand which part microbial decomposers play in biogenic elements cycle in the steppe ecosystems of Central Asia: species composition and productivity of plant communities; chemical composition of dead plant material; fungal abundance and abundance of various ecological trophic groups of bacteria (saprophytic, proteolytic, cellulolytic); degradation rate of model substrates and plant litter (protein and cellulose). The total stock of chemical elements (N, P, Ca, Mg and K) involved in the biological cycles in the steppe of Buryatia (Russia) amounted from 6.478 to 10.130 kg/ha, and from 8.826 to 31.802 kg/ha in the Mongolian steppe. The chemistry of elements’ cycles in the ecosystems under study is of a nitrogen type