Characterization of physicochemical parameters and bioavailable heavy metals and their interactions with microbial community in arsenic-contaminated soils and sediments

Mobility and toxicity of heavy metal contamination in the environment are highly dependent on its bioavailability. Most of previous studies focused on total heavy metal contents and their influence on microbial community in soils and sediments. Little were concerned about bioavailable fractions. In the current study, soil and sediment samples were collected near an abandoned realgar mine in Shimen County, China. Bioavailable heavy metals including Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, and Pb in the samples were extracted using three-step sequential extraction method. Interactions among physicochemical parameters, total and bioavailable heavy metals, and microbial community in the collected samples were investigated. The study area has been severely contaminated by As with a concentration up to 2158 mg·kg⁻¹ detected. The result of principal component analysis showed that the abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the soils were obviously different from those in the sediments. In the soil samples, pH made a dominant contribution on the OTU abundance of microbial community. Correlation analyses revealed that the alpha diversity indices and microbial taxon were most correlated with bioavailable fractions of heavy metals in all the samples. That means bioavailable heavy metals rather than total heavy metals or physicochemical parameters played a more important role on richness and diversity of microbial community. Little connections were observed between microbial community and As no matter total concentration or bioavailable fraction. However, bioavailable Fe and Mn were recognized as the major driving force shaping the taxonomic structure of microbial community due to their relatively high concentrations and high affinity to other heavy metal contamination in soils and sediments.