[Microflora and the potential capacity for gas formation of the bottom deposits of the Ivan and Arakhleĭ lakes (the Baikal region)].

The number of microorganisms and bacterial biomass in ooze deposits of the Ivano-Arakhleyskiye Lakes (Zabaikalye) decrease unevenly downward the ground column. This decrease is more sharp near the shores. The total number and bacterial biomass of the ground microflora directly depend on the extent of trophicity of the lakes. Gas production in the lakes Irgen, Ivan and Arakhley is accomplished by bacteria and involves exocellular enzymes. The rate of gas production differs among the lakes, along their horizontal layers, and in the vertical cross-section of sediments. The technique for determining the rate of gas production proposed by M. A. Messineva has been successive when applied to the ground of the Ivano-Arakhleyskiye Lakes.