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Specific characteristics of the microbial community in the groundwater fluctuation zone

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Abstract 

Groundwater level fluctuation is a common natural phenomenon that causes alternate changes in oxygen, moisture, and biogeochemical processes in sediments. Microbes are sensitive to these environmental changes. Therefore, a specific microbial community is proposed to form in the groundwater fluctuation zone (GFZ). The vertical distributions of microbial abundance, diversity, and functional microbes and genes in sediment profiles were investigated, focusing on the GFZ, using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, qPCR, and the Functional Annotation of Prokaryotic Taxa (FAPROTAX) approach. The relationships between chemical variables and microbial community structure were investigated by redundancy analysis (RDA). Results showed that the microbial abundance and microbial community richness and diversity were higher in the sediments of the GFZ. The nitrate reducers prefer to stay just below the groundwater level in the GFZ. The predominant microbes in the GFZ functioned as nitrifiers and Fe-oxidizers. The specific community in the GFZ is mainly related to NO3− and Fe(III) in the sediment. Consequently, the biochemical processes nitrification and Fe- and Mn-oxidation sequentially happen above the nitrate-reduction zone near the groundwater level in the GFZ. These results provide new knowledge in the biogeochemistry cycle of the GFZ and its disturbance on the vertical distribution and transport of biogenic elements and contaminants.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41830862, 41672353, 41521001), Hubei Province for Innovative Research Groups (grant no. 2018CFA028), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (CUGCJ1803, CUGQY1928).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Junhao Shen, Hui Liu & Rong Chen

  2. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, People’s Republic of China

    Hui Liu

  3. Plant Protection Station of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Huazhong Zhou

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  1. Junhao Shen
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  2. Hui Liu
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Contributions

Junhao Shen: Conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, software, writing—original draft. Hui Liu: Supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, conceptualization, writing—review and editing. Huazhong Zhou: Writing—review and editing. Rong Chen: writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Hui Liu.

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Shen, J., Liu, H., Zhou, H. et al. Specific characteristics of the microbial community in the groundwater fluctuation zone. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 76066–76077 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21166-1

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