A Review on Microorganisms in Constructed Wetlands for Typical Pollutant Removal: Species, Function, and Diversity

Abstract

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been proven as a reliable alternative to traditional wastewater treatment technologies. Microorganisms in CWs, as an important component, play a key role in processes such as pollutant degradation and nutrient transformation. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of the community structure and diversity of microorganisms, especially for functional microorganisms, in CWs is important to understand its performance patterns and explore optimized strategies. With advances in molecular biotechnology, it is now possible to analyze and study microbial communities and species composition in complex environments. This review performed bibliometric analysis of microbial studies in CWs to evaluate research trends and identify the most studied pollutants. On this basis, the main functional microorganisms of CWs involved in the removal of these pollutants are summarized, and the effects of these pollutants on microbial diversity are investigated. The result showed that the main phylum involved in functional microorganisms in CWs include Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. These functional microorganisms can remove pollutants from CWs by catalyzing chemical reactions, biodegradation, biosorption, and supporting plant growth, etc. Regarding microbial alpha diversity, heavy metals and high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus significantly reduce microbial richness and diversity, whereas antibiotics can cause large fluctuations in alpha diversity. Overall, this review can provide new ideas and directions for the research of microorganisms in CWs.