Rock glaciers (RG) are assumed to influence the biogeochemistry of downstream ecosystems because of the high ratio of rock:water in those systems, but no studies have considered the effects of a RG inflow on the microbial ecology of sediments in a downstream pond. An alpine RG-pond system, located in the NW Italian Alps has been chosen as a model, and Bacteria and Archaea 16S rRNA genes abundance, distribution and diversity have been assessed by qPCR and Illumina sequencing, coupled with geochemical analyses on sediments collected along a distance gradient from the RG inflow. RG surface material and neighbouring soil have been included in the analysis to better elucidate relationships among different habitats. Our results showed that different habitats harboured different, well separated microbial assemblages. Across the pond, the main variations in community composition (e.g. Thaumarchaeota and Cyanobacteria relative abundance) and porewater geochemistry (pH, DOC, TDN and NH4 +) were not directly linked to RG proximity, but to differences in water depth. Some microbial markers potentially linked to the presence of meltwater inputs from the RG have been recognised, although the RG seems to have a greater influence on the pond microbial communities due to its contribution in terms of sedimentary material.
Anaerobic digestion is one of the most important and advantageous processes in livestock manure treatment. Digestate, one of its byproducts, contains particularly high nitrogen levels that determine storage and disposal costs. Excess nitrogen can be managed through sequestration processes. This study assesses the potential of natural zeolite to adsorb ammonium ions from a simulated ammonium-rich digestate, and to verify its absorbency and efficiency to release fertilizer slowly to strawberry plants. The assessment considered the effects on the plant, fruit quality, prokaryotic abundances and relative abundance of bacterial and archaeal functional genes related to nitrification. Our results confirm that ammonium-enriched zeolites possess positive implications for strawberry plants and favorably influence bacterial nitrification. Natural zeolites demonstrated high sorption properties and were shown to be an efficient carrier of N to plants.
Patterned ground (PG) is one of the most evident expressions of cryogenic processes affecting 12 periglacial soils, where macroscopic, repeated variations in soil morphology seem to be 13 associated with small-scale edaphic and vegetation gradients, potentially influencing also 14 microbial communities. While for high latitude environments only few studies on PG 15 microbiology are available, the alpine context, where PG features are rarer, is almost 16 unexplored under this point of view. We followed a double approach, based on Denaturing 17 Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative PCR (qPCR), in order to investigate 18 microbial community composition and to evaluate the abundance of phylogenetic markers and 19 functional genes (bacterial and archaeal amoA) within single PG features and among different 20 sites from four areas in the Western Italian Alps, characterized by different lithotypes. Bacterial, 21 archaeal and fungal community composition was quite homogeneous within single features, 22 with more differences among samples collected from different lithologies. The abundance of 23 phylogenetic and functional markers was uniform at different sites, except for the highest 24 altitude one showing the lowest bacterial, archaeal and ammonia-oxidizing archaea abundance. 25Nevertheless, at a small-scale level, a concentric distribution of microbial markers was 26 described within single features, paralleling soil chemical properties trends. These first results 27support the hypothesis that microbial ecology in alpine, periglacial ecosystems is driven by a 28 complex series of environmental factors, such as lithology, altitude and cryogenic activity, 29 acting simultaneously on community shaping both in terms of diversity and abundance.
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