Assessment of the level and impacts of anthropogenic activities in ecotourism sites using soil bacteria prevalence and abundance: Awba dam as a case study

The extent of human impact on sensitive ecosystem is now so profound that there is currently much discussion about Anthropocene. Massive tourists’ influxes to a relatively small area often have a huge impact. The direct local impacts of tourism on soil microbes and ecosystem at destinations are strongly affected by concentration in time and space. The diversity and abundance of soil microorganism can be influenced by tourism activities. Hence, this is a good means of evaluating the extent and the quality of the environment of tourists’ destinations. This study used soil bacteria count at different activity areas in Awba dam to assess impacts of human activities. Anthropogenic activities in the dam were determined through direct observation. Two replicates of soil samples were randomly collected from construction site, residential area and farm land. Samples were taken to analytical laboratory for bacterial count using Serial Dilution Techniques to determine the count and the types of bacteria. Bacillus sp and Pseudomonas sp were the most prevalent bacteria occurring in all the samples (100%) and then Micrococcus sp (60%). The highest total bacteria count was obtained in the samples collected in the forested areas (7.3 ×106) followed by disturbed forest (6.1 ×10⁶) and in samples collected in the residential areas (5.5 ×10⁶). The bacteria count of each area differs depending on the kind and level of activities carried out in those areas. Construction sites have the highest level of disturbance but the least number of bacteria while forested areas have the lowest level of disturbance and the highest number of bacteria. The assessment of microbial biodiversity has the potential to provide useful insight into the health and functioning of a good environment. The analysis carried out on the soil samples collected revealed a variation in abundance of bacteria composition in accordance with the level of activity carried out on the land.