XVI International Botanical Congess

Microhabitats in the above ground portion of a plant vary spatially. The objective of our study was to compare the microbial populations that live in a phylloplane among patches of_Andropogon gerardii_. Leaf samples were collected from different locations within a plane in eight patches along a 100 m transect. Microbes were collected from each leaf and plated onto tryptic-soy agar plates. Differences in microbial numbers within and among patches of A. gerardii were statistically determined. Preliminary data indicate that there is a large variance in the number of microbes both within and among patches. This variability may relate to differences in microenvironmental conditions due to the canopy structure of the patch. This knowledge serves as a baseline for studies to examine the impact microbial populations have on the their hosts.