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Effects of macrophyte-associated nitrogen cycling bacteria on denitrification in the sediments of the eutrophic Gonghu Bay, Taihu Lake

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Abstract

Integrated Elodea nuttallii-immobilized nitrogen cycling bacteria (INCB) technology was used for ecological restoration in the eutrophic Gonghu Bay, Taihu Lake. Sediment denitrification was investigated through microcosm incubations with four different treatments: bare sediment core as control without restoration, sediment + E. nuttallii, sediment + E. nuttallii + INCB, and sediment + INCB. The sediments with E. nuttallii-INCB assemblage (E-INCB) had the highest denitrification rates among all the treatments, and the E-INCB increased the denitrification rate by 162% in the sediments. The presence of macrophytes yielded a penetration depth of O2 to more than 20 mm below the sediment–water interface (SWI), while the depth was only 4 mm in the sediments without macrophytes. The quantity of denitrifier in E-INCB sediments (within ~2 cm below the SWI) showed a significant increasing trend during one-month incubation, which was one order of magnitudes higher than that in the sediments without INCB. Macrophytes caused deeper O2 penetration and increased oxic-anoxic interface, which could stimulate the coupled nitrification–denitrification. The high denitrification rate of the E-INCB treatment may result from the increased inorganic nitrogen content in the vicinity of the SWI, causing more nitrate to reach the anoxic denitrification zone. The results showed that E-INCB assemblage could increase benthic N removal by stimulating denitrification via combined O2 penetration and enhanced microbial N cycling processes. E-INCB might be used as a potential restoration method for controlling fresh water system eutrophication.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK2010056), Projects of Jiangsu Provincial Department Environmental Protection Office (No. 201108), the Major State Water Pollution Control and Treatment Technique Program of China (No. 2008ZX07101-012) and the National Natural Science Foundation (No. 40903031). We sincerely thank Dr. Zhang Lu for providing valuable advices on isotope samples test. We thank Dr. Wang Jianjun for his technical assistance in using O2 microoptode equipment, and Mr. Xiong Wen and Mr. Chen Qichun for providing field and lab support. We also thank the helpful comments of the two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Zhang Xuxiang.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Pollutant Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210046, People’s Republic of China

    Yichao Wang, Zhengkui Li, Li Zhou, Lulu Feng & Nianwen Fan

  2. State Key of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Ji Shen

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  1. Yichao Wang
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  2. Zhengkui Li
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Correspondence to Zhengkui Li.

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Wang, Y., Li, Z., Zhou, L. et al. Effects of macrophyte-associated nitrogen cycling bacteria on denitrification in the sediments of the eutrophic Gonghu Bay, Taihu Lake. Hydrobiologia 700, 329–341 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1241-7

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