| Description |
We set up 16 sampling sites (S1-S16) in the Jinshui River across a gradient of human activity intensity in the catchment. The Jinshui River is located in the Qinling Mountains of China with a drainage area of 731 km2. Its upper reach is in the Foping National Nature Reserve where it is mostly uninhabited with extensive forest cover. Our objectives were to understand: 1) What were the spatial distribution characteristics of denitrifying microorganisms and denitrification rates in the river system? 2) How did denitrifying microorganisms and denitrification rate respond to human disturbance and physical and chemical characteristics of overlying water? We first investigated the temporal and spatial variations of physicochemical factors in overlying water and determined sediment denitrification rates in a subtropical river, China. Afterwards, we applied high-throughput sequencing to study relative abundance of denitrifiers (i.e., narG, nirK, nirS, norB, nosZI) in the river ecosystem. |
