Toward the development of microbial indicators for wetland assessment

Wetland assessment tools are being developed and employed in wetland monitoring and conservation based on physical, chemical and biological characterization. In wetland biological assessment, various ecological functions have been described by biological traits of an entire species pool that adapts to different types of wetland environments. Since microorganisms play a key role in wetland biogeochemical processes and respond quickly to environmental disturbances, this review paper describes the different macro indicators used in wetland biological monitoring and expands the potential use of microbial indicators in wetland assessment and management. Application of molecular microbial technologies paves the path to an integrated measure of wetland health conditions. For example, the ratio of ammonia-oxidizing archaeal and bacterial populations has been proposed to serve as a microbial indicator of wetland nutrient conditions. The microbial indicators coupled with physical, chemical and other biological parameters are vital to the development of multi-metric index for measuring wetland health conditions. Inclusion of microbial indicators will lead to a more comprehensive wetland assessment for wetland restoration and management practices.

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► Multi-metric index including microbial indicators is needed for wetland assessment.
► Microbial indicators will lead to a more comprehensive wetland assessment.
► Abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) in wetlands has been determined.
► A novel microbial indicator in the form of the ratio of AOA to AOB has been proposed.
► Observations highlight the promise for microbial indicators to monitor wetland restorations.