Characterization of soil bacterial community structure and physicochemical properties in created and natural wetlands

We used multi-tag pyrosequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA to characterize bacterial communities of wetland soils collected from created and natural wetlands located in the Virginia piedmont. Soils were also evaluated for their physicochemical properties [i.e., percent moisture, pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and C:N ratio]. Soil moisture varied from 15% up to 55% among the wetlands. Soil pH ranged between 4.2 and 5.8, showing the typical characteristic of acidic soils in the Piedmont region. Soil organic matter contents ranged from 3% up to 6%. Soil bacterial community structures and their differences between the wetlands were distinguished by pyrosequencing. Soil bacterial communities in the created wetlands were less dissimilar to each other than to those of either natural wetland, with little difference in diversity (Shannon's H′) between created and natural wetlands, except one natural wetland consistently showing a lower H′. The greatest difference of bacterial community structure was observed between the two natural wetlands (R = 0.937, p < 0.05), suggesting these two natural wetlands were actually quite different reflecting differences in their soil physicochemistry. The major phylogenic groups of all soils included Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Gemmatinomadetes, Nitrospira, and Proteobacteria with Proteobacteria being the majority of the community composition. Acidobacteria group was more abundant in natural wetlands than in created wetlands. We found a significant association between bacterial community structures and physicochemical properties of soils such as C:N ratio (ρ = 0.43, p < 0.01) and pH (ρ = 0.39, p < 0.01). The outcomes of the study show that the development of ecological functions, mostly mediated by microbial communities, is connected with the development of soil properties in created wetlands. Soil properties should be carefully monitored to examine the progress of functional wetland mitigation.

► Soil properties showed differences by site without a specific age-trajectory. ► Soil bacterial communities were distinguished by wetland sites. ► Proteobacteria contributed to the majority of the community composition of all soils. ► The relative abundance of different phylogenic groups differed by wetland site. ► Bacterial community structures were significantly associated with C:N ratio and pH.