Impact of sampling depth and plant species on local environmental conditions, microbiological parameters and bacterial composition in a mercury contaminated salt marsh
2012 | 1000
Cleary, D. F. R. | Oliveira, V. | Gomes, N. C. M. | Pereira, A. | Henriques, I. | Marques, B. | Almeida, A. | Cunha, A. | Correia, A. | Lillebo, A. I.
We compare the environmental characteristics and bacterial communities associated with two rushes, Juncus maritimus and Bolboschoenus maritimus , and adjacent unvegetated habitat in a salt marsh subjected to historical mercury pollution. Mercury content was higher in vegetated than unvegetated habitat and increased with sampling depth. There was also a significant relationship between mercury concentration and bacterial composition. Habitat (Juncus, Bolboschoenus or unvegetated), sample depth, and the interaction between both, however, explained most of the variation in composition (~70%). Variation in composition with depth was most prominent for the unvegetated habitat, followed by Juncus , but more constrained for Bolboschoenus habitat. This constraint may be indicative of a strong plant–microbe eco- physiological adaptation. Vegetated habitat contained distinct bacterial communities associated with higher potential activity of aminopeptidase, b -glucosidase and arylsulphatase and incorporation rates of 14C-glucose and 14C-acetate. Communities in unvegetated habitat were, in contrast, associated with both higher pH and proportion of sulphate reducing bacteria.
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