Spatial Distribution of Toxic Metal(loid)s and Microbial Community Analysis in Soil Vertical Profile at an Abandoned Nonferrous Metal Smelting Site

Abstract

In this study soils at different depths were collected in a Zn smelting site located in Zhuzhou City, China, in order to understand toxic metal(loid)s distribution and microbial community in vertical soil profile at a smelting site. Except Soil properties and metal(loid)s content, the richness and diversity of microbial communities in soil samples were analyzed via high-throughput Illumina sequencing of 16s rRNA gene amplicons. The results showed that the content of As, Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn, and Mn was relatively high in top soil in comparison to subsoil, while the concentration of Cr in subsoil was comparable with that in top soil due to its relative high background value in this soil layer. The bioavailability of Cd, Mn, Zn, and Pb was relative higher than that of As, Cr, and Cu. The diversity of soil microbial communities decreased with increasing depth, which might be ascribed to the decrease in evenness with increase in depth duo to the influence by environmental conditions, such as pH, TK (total potassium), CEC (cation exchange capacity), ORP (oxidation reduction potential), and Bio-Cu (bioavailable copper). The results also found Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi were dominant phyla in soil samples. At the genus level, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Gp7 were dominant soil microorganism. Besides, Environmental factors, such as SOM (soil organic matter), pH, Bio-Cu, Bio-Cd (bioavailable cadmium), and Bio-Pb (bioavailable lead), greatly impacted microbial community in surface soil (1–3 m), while ORP, TK, and AN concentration influenced microbial community in the subsoil (4–10 m).