The Impact of Irrigation on Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity in Liaohe Estuary Wetland

Abstract

In this study, the sequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA was used to characterize the soil bacterial community composition and diversity in Liaohe estuarine wetland. Soil samples were taken from different locations in the wetland dominated by reed. Moreover, the soil quality parameters were evaluated (pH, moisture, organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus). The results showed that the organic matter and nutrient contents were significantly higher in irrigated wetland than those in natural wetland. Major phylogenic groups of bacteria in soil samples including Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria were analyzed and we found that Proteobacteria was the most abundant in the community, and the phylum Acidobacteria was more abundant in irrigated wetland. Beta diversity analyses indicated that the soil bacterial community was mainly affected by sampling sites rather than seasons. In general, the bacterial community in natural wetland was not significantly different with that in artificial irrigated wetland. Artificial hydraulic engineering irrigated according to the water requirement rule of reed, increased the production of reeds, changed the way of wetland soil material input, but the diversity of bacterial community kept stable relatively.