title: Microbial community structure and denitrification in a wetland mitigation bank.
abstract: Wetland mitigation is implemented to replace ecosystem functions provided by wetlands; however, restoration efforts frequently fail to establish equivalent levels of ecosystem services. Delivery of microbially mediated ecosystem functions, such as denitrification, is influenced by both the structure and activity of the microbial community. The objective of this study was to compare the relationship between soil and vegetation factors and microbial community structure and function in restored and reference wetlands within a mitigation bank. Microbial community composition was assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism targeting the 16S rRNA gene (total bacteria) and the nosZ gene (denitrifiers). Comparisons of microbial function were based on potential denitrification rates. Bacterial community structures differed significantly between restored and reference wetlands; denitrifier community assemblages were similar among reference sites but highly variable among restored sites throughout the mitigation bank. Potential denitrification was highest in the reference wetland sites. These data demonstrate that wetland restoration efforts in this mitigation bank have not successfully restored denitrification and that differences in potential denitrification rates may be due to distinct microbial assemblages observed in restored and reference (natural) wetlands. Further, we have identified gradients in soil moisture and soil fertility that were associated with differences in microbial community structure. Microbial function was influenced by bacterial community composition and soil fertility. Identifying soil factors that are primary ecological drivers of soil bacterial communities, especially denitrifying populations, can potentially aid the development of predictive models for restoration of biogeochemical transformations and enhance the success of wetland restoration efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. USA.
authors.forename: Ariane L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Peralta
authors.forename: Jeffrey W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Kent
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D063245:Plant Development; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D009566:Nitrates; D012987:Soil
references.citation: Environ Manage. 2007 Feb;39(2):246-60
references.pmid: 17123002
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1998 May 1;162(1):61-8
references.pmid: 9595664
references.citation: J Environ Qual. 2004 Jul-Aug;33(4):1296-304
references.pmid: 15254111
references.citation: Ecol Appl. 2009 Sep;19(6):1467-80
references.pmid: 19769095
references.citation: Environ Manage. 2008 Jan;41(1):130-41
references.pmid: 17676406
references.citation: Crit Rev Microbiol. 2006;32(2):101-12
references.pmid: 16850561
references.citation: Science. 2008 Apr 11;320(5873):162-3
references.pmid: 18403679
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2002 Oct;68(10):5017-25
references.pmid: 12324352
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Aug;72(8):5181-9
references.pmid: 16885263
references.citation: Ecology. 2007 Jun;88(6):1386-94
references.pmid: 17601131
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2002 Aug;68(8):3818-29
references.pmid: 12147477
references.citation: Ecol Appl. 2006 Dec;16(6):2091-122
references.pmid: 17205891
references.citation: Ecol Appl. 2007 Dec;17(8):2365-76
references.pmid: 18213975
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Jan;71(1):227-39
references.pmid: 15640192
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2009 Mar;67(3):444-54
references.pmid: 19220860
references.citation: Environ Microbiol. 2007 Mar;9(3):576-83
references.pmid: 17298358
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2006 Jun;21(6):288-95
references.pmid: 16769427
references.citation: ISME J. 2007 May;1(1):38-47
references.pmid: 18043612
references.citation: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 2004 Nov;86(4):339-47
references.pmid: 15702386
references.citation: Microbiology (Reading). 2002 Nov;148(Pt 11):3521-3530
references.pmid: 12427943
references.citation: Environ Manage. 1999 Oct;24(3):327-336
references.pmid: 10486043
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Oct;74(19):5997-6005
references.pmid: 18689522
references.citation: Biochim Biophys Acta. 2002 Sep 27;1577(3):355-76
references.pmid: 12359326
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jan 17;103(3):626-31
references.pmid: 16407148
references.citation: ISME J. 2009 May;3(5):597-605
references.pmid: 19148144
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Nov 18;105(46):17842-7
references.pmid: 19004771
references.citation: Microb Ecol. 2001 Jul;42(1):11-21
references.pmid: 12035077
references.citation: Ecology. 2006 Mar;87(3):570-9
references.pmid: 16602287
references.citation: Environ Manage. 1999 Apr;23(3):333-345
references.pmid: 9950696
references.citation: Ecol Appl. 2006 Dec;16(6):2143-52
references.pmid: 17205893
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1997 Nov;63(11):4516-22
references.pmid: 9361437
references.citation: Adv Microb Physiol. 2007;52:107-227
references.pmid: 17027372
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2003 Oct;69(10):5974-82
references.pmid: 14532052