Heavy metal pollution in urban river sediment of different urban functional areas and its influence on microbial community structure

Abstract In this study, the Songgang River (SR) was selected as a typical contaminated urban river in a highly urbanized city (Shenzhen) that is extensively polluted by heavy metals (HMs). Five representative sampling sites were selected from different urban functional areas along the SR, and the spatial and vertical distributions of HMs and the related environmental risk were investigated. In addition, the distribution variability, composition, and abundance of microbial communities, as well as the correlation between the abundance of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and the HM contents were analyzed. The spatial distribution of HMs in the sediment revealed wide variation among the different urban functional areas. Industrial and residential areas had higher HM contents, following the order of Cu > Zn > Ni > Cr > Pb. In addition, the vertical characterization (5–300 cm) of HM content showed a decreasing trend with depth, with a distinct layer around 120–180 cm that might have been caused by anthropogenic activity. An ecological risk assessment indicated that Cu, Ni, and Cr pose high potential risks in these industrial and residential areas (at the depth of 5–180 cm). Furthermore, microbial community analysis indicated that some HM-tolerant bacteria (e.g., Gallionella, Acidovorax, Arenimonas, Curvibacter, and Sideroxydans) were dominant in the 5–120 cm layer, corresponding to high HM contents. A canonical correspondence analysis and co-occurrence network further confirmed that there was a strong correlation among the urban functional areas, HM contents, and the abundance of microorganisms in the urban river sediment. The results of this study have the potential to provide a bio-augmentation strategy for the in-situ bioremediation of sediment contaminated by HMs.