Effect of materials types of water-land junction settings on soil bacterial community structure in Shanghai riverside ecological corridor

Abstract

In the context of accelerated global urbanization, the construction of urban riverside ecological corridors increases the aesthetics of cities as well as people's recreational experience. The setup of water-land junction from different materials in riverside ecological corridors may have effects on the soil physicochemical properties and the structure of bacterial communities. Despite their relevance and importance to human well-being, urban soil microbes of riverside ecological corridors are poorly understood. In this study, the two most common material types of water-land junction in Shanghai, natural soil and artificial concrete are selected for the comparison. The results showed that natural soil water-land junction had a higher soil water content, organic carbon and total nitrogen than artificial concrete due to the influence of the river. Meanwhile, the difference of soil properties between the two types junctions is more obvious in topsoil and near river areas. The artificial concrete junction had a higher homogeneity among its own sites due to the obstruction of material-energy exchange between water and land, with only variations in pH and soil bulk density. Therefore, there are significant differences in the bacterial composition and structure of the sites between the two types of corridors, especially in the abundance of Actinomycetales, Rhizobiales, Gaiellales, etc., which are more sensitive to soil moisture and nutrients. In general, according to our analysis, natural soil water-land junction corridors are superior to artificial concrete from the perspective of soil ecology, which can provide a certain scientific basis for urban waterside managers and corridor builders in terms of urbanization.