MICROBIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL SAMPLES IMPACTED BY HYDROCARBONS FROM SELECTED SITES IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA

This study determined the microbiological properties of soil samples from selected hydrocarbon impacted sites in the Niger Delta region. Standard sampling and analytical methods were employed. The following microbial properties were analyzed; Heterotrophic bacteria counts (cfu/g), Hydrocarbon Utilization Bacteria (cfu/g), Heterotrophic fungi counts (cfu/g) and Hydrocarbon Utilization Fungi (cfu/g). Findings revealed that the microbial properties of soil samples across selected impacted sites of the Niger Delta showed a significant difference in the surface and sub-surface levels with values for Total Heterotrophic Bacteria (THB) ranging from (1.04 × 103 to 2.45 × 103 cfu/g) and Hydrocarbon Utilizing Bacteria (HUB) ranging from (3.96 × 103 to 9.99 × 103 cfu/g) for surface and sub-surface respectively with p-values <0.05 across all the sampled stations. Hydrocarbon Utilizing bacteria and fungi genera isolated were Clostridium, Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Vibrio, Achromobacter, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Citrobacter, penicillium, Trichoderma, Geochrichum, Candida, Fusarium, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium, Condiva, and Rhodotorula.  Based on these findings, it is concluded that, the higher the concentration of pollutants in the soil, the more the number of microorganisms. Hence, it is recommended that the relevant agencies should constantly check the levels of microbial properties as per WHO guidelines.