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Microbial community structure in landfill soils : Case study in Serbia
Summary
This case study analyzed bacterial and fungal communities in soils from an active landfill, a remediated landfill, and adjacent agricultural land in Serbia, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize how landfill conditions and expected high microplastic loads shape soil microbial communities.
Microorganisms are vital for soil health and demonstrate an adaptive capacity to environmental change, with their role in plastic biodegradation increasingly recognized. Main purpose of this case study was to analyse bacterial and fungal communities in soils where high numbers of microplastics are expected. Soil samples were collected from three land use types: active landfill, remediated landfill, and agricultural soil. From each field, we took 3 replicates and isolated all DNA from soil samples of the top soil layer (0 - 10cm). Microbial community profiling was performed using Illumina amplicon sequencing, making use of a Novaseq (2x300 bp, paired-end), targeting the V3-V4 fragment of the 16S rRNA gene (bacteria), and ITS2 rDNA region (fungi). Sequencing analysis showed shifts in microbial community structure across the tested soil types. In the agricultural soil (control), the bacterial community was dominated by Pseudomonadota (>50%) and Actinomycetota (20–25%). The active landfill exhibited a significant reduction in both species, with a strong increase in Bacteroidota. This change in community structure was proven by a PERMANOVA analysis (p<0,001) showing a statistical difference in microbial community in between the two land types. In the remediated landfill the relative abundance of Pseudomonadota was higher than in the active landfill but still lower than in the control. This indicates that the long-term effects of landfill continue to prevent a full return of microbial communities to the structure observed in the agricultural soil, served as control. However, we do acknowledge that the effects could also be soil dependent and should be evaluated further with information regarding nutrient status, organic matter content, microplastic content and soil texture. These findings highlight the lasting impact of land use and remediation efforts on soil microbial communities, aligning with existing results on environmental stress and community composition.