Anthropogenic Nitrate Contamination Impacts Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Microbial Communities in the Marchica Lagoon (Morocco)

Chahrazade El Hamouti, Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa (), Youness Mabrouki, Bouchra Chaouni, Hassan Ghazal, Noureddine Boukhatem, Rajaa Chahboune and Eulogio J. Bedmar
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Chahrazade El Hamouti: Life and Health Sciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tanger 90000, Morocco
Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa: Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín-CSIC, E-18008 Granada, Spain
Youness Mabrouki: Conservation and Valorization of Natural Resources Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fèz-Atlas 30003, Morocco
Bouchra Chaouni: Laboratory of Plant and Microbial Biotechnology, Biodiversity and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University, Rabat 10000, Morocco
Hassan Ghazal: Scientific Department, National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), Rabat 10102, Morocco
Noureddine Boukhatem: Laboratory of Bioresources, Biotechnology, Ethnopharmacology and Health, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed First University, Oujda 60000, Morocco
Rajaa Chahboune: Life and Health Sciences Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tanger 90000, Morocco
Eulogio J. Bedmar: Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín-CSIC, E-18008 Granada, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Lagoon systems are often confined, and their waters are poorly renewed, which makes them vulnerable to pollutants’ accumulation. Here, the impact of different sources of anthropogenic contamination (domestic, urban, industrial, and agricultural) on the nitrate (NO 3 − ) content, emission of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N 2 O), abundance of total bacterial archaeal, nitrifying, and denitrifying communities, and diversity and composition of bacterial communities in the sediments of the RAMSAR-protected Marchica lagoon (Nador, Morocco) was investigated. Six lake sites differing in NO 3 − concentration were selected. Wastewater coming from industrial activities results in the greatest concentration of NO 3 − in sediments and emissions of N 2 O. Increased carbon to nitrogen content in sites near domestic activities resulted in an increase in the abundance of total bacterial and archaeal communities, as well as nitrification and denitrification genes, but low N 2 O emissions due to a greater presence of microorganisms involved in N 2 O production over those able to reduce N 2 O. Significant differences in bacterial community composition between sites were observed, with the NO 3 − content being the main driver of these changes. Increased NO 3 − content in the sampling sites significantly reduced bacterial diversity. Bacterial genera involved in the degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants and nitrous oxide reduction, such as Robiginitalea , Symbiobacterium , Bacillus , Fusibacter , Neptunomonas , Colwellia , and Alteromonas , were the most abundant in the lagoon. The results suggest that the type of anthropogenic contamination directly impacts the nitrate content in the sediments of the Marchica lagoon, which determines variations in nitrous oxide emissions, nitrogen-cycling gene abundances, and bacterial diversity.

Keywords: sediments; lakes; greenhouse gas emissions; denitrification; qPCR; microbial diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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