Soil-sediment connectivity through Bayesian source tracking in an urban naturalised waterway via microbial and isotopic markers.

ABSTRACT

Riverine sediments are important habitats for microbial activity in naturalised waterways to provide potential ecosystem services that improve stormwater quality. Yet, little is known about the sources of these sediment microbes, and the factors shaping them. This study investigated the dominant source of sediments in a tropical naturalised urban waterway, using two Bayesian methods for microbial and isotopic 13C/15N markers concurrently. Additionally, key factors shaping microbial communities from the surrounding landscape were evaluated. A comprehensive two-year field survey identified source land covers of interest based on topology and soil context. Among these land covers, riverbanks were the dominant source of sediments contribution for both edaphic and microbial components. The physico-chemical environment explains most of the variation in sediment communities compared to inter-location distances and microbial source contribution. As microbes provide ecosystem services important for rewilding waterways, management strategies that establish diverse sediment microbial communities are encouraged. Since riverbanks play a disproportionately important role in material contribution to sediment beds, management practices aimed at controlling soil erosion from riverbanks can improve overall functioning of waterway systems.