Seasonal Population Trends of Microbial Communities in Oil Tainted Soils in Greater Port Harcourt Area, Nigeria

Abstract

The utilization of oil in industries has devastating effect to the environment. Industrial effluents and oil spills are continuously contaminating the soil. Further, seasonality influences the distribution of pollutants in soil. Consequently, soil microbial biota and ecological processes are affected. This study assessed the effect of seasonality on soil fungal and bacterial communities in oil contaminated soils in 12 selected sites in Greater Port Harcourt Area. Standard analytical procedures were used to obtain bio-physicochemical data from the soil samples and t test was used to analyse data. The levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were above 5000 ppm (DPR recommended limit). There was significant difference (p ≤ 0.000) between the means of TPH in wet and dry seasons. Seasonality influenced % HUF and % HUB in the soils of urban, industrial and agricultural sites. Generally, the seasonality trends showed that there was a declining population of THB, HUB, TF, and HUF from the wet season to the dry season. However, the results show that there was a stable trend in % HUB as compared to oscillations observed in % HUF in oil tainted soils across a seasonal divide. We recommend characterization of the microorganism to identify the best candidate for bioremediation of oil tainted soils across a seasonal divide.