Characteristics of denitrifying bacteria in different habitats of the Yongding River wetland, China

Nitrogen nutrient salts are considered the major environmental factors (RNH4+-N 0.92, R(TN)0.85) affecting the structure and distribution of denitrogen bacteria. We aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which wetland bacteria adapt to environmental factors in different types of habitats. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to study the microbial community structure of sediments in three wetland habitats [fish ponds, surface flow wetlands (cattails and reeds), and ditches] of the Yongding River, China. The microbial community structure differed across different habitats. Species richness of nitrifying bacteria increased, while that of denitrifying bacteria decreased, with ammonium salt and total nitrogen concentrations increasing from surface flow wetland to ditch wetland. The characteristics of the three habitat types and their distribution in the Yongding River wetland are beneficial to the differential distribution of microbial communities across the wetland, and to the existence and denitrification of different dominant bacteria. Overall, these results help explain the natural filtering function of wetlands.