Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2006

Swedish railways are regularly treated with herbicides in order to keep the track beds free from weeds. However, finding appropriate preparations and dosages that provide a good weed control but that are still environmentally acceptable, has proven to be difficult. This thesis investigates some fundamental aspects of the microbiology of railways, such as amounts, activities and spatial distributions of microorganisms in the track bed, in order to provide the knowledge base for a more informed use of herbicides on railway tracks. The railways investigated were characterized by overall low but highly variable rates of respiratory activity. Distributions were positively skewed and autocorrelation distances were short.