Bacteriological Analysis of Soil from Doodhpathri Health Resort, Kashmir Valley: Assessing Microbial Diversity Under Tourism Pressure

Abstract

Doodhpathri, a high-altitude alpine meadow in Budgam district, Kashmir, has seen a sharp rise in tourist footfall over the past decade, yet no baseline data existed on how this pressure affects the resort's soil microbiology. This study assessed bacterial abundance, community composition, diversity, and functional activity across five sites spanning a tourism-intensity gradient (undisturbed to heavily trampled), sampled across four seasons (n = 120 soil samples). Bacterial counts ranged from 0.6 to 21.0 × 10⁴ CFU g⁻¹ dry soil, peaking at the most tourism-intensive core meadow site in summer and lowest at the least-disturbed site in winter. Of 677 isolates characterized, 64% were Gram-negative and 56% coccoid. Diversity indices followed an intermediate-disturbance pattern rather than a simple decline: Site III, moderately trafficked, showed the highest Shannon diversity (H' = 1.16) and Margalef richness (d = 9.8), while the most heavily disturbed core site showed elevated abundance but comparatively lower evenness. Proteolytic and ammonifying activity rose consistently with tourism intensity (22% to 48% and 28% to 52% of isolates respectively), consistent with nutrient enrichment from organic waste and human presence. Bacterial abundance correlated most strongly with temperature (r = 0.81) and organic carbon (r = 0.73). These findings provide the first site-resolved bacteriological baseline for Doodhpathri and indicate that tourism pressure is measurably reshaping soil microbial communities well before any visible degradation appears, with direct implications for solid waste management and visitor-load planning at the resort.