Effect of the bacterial community assembly process on the microbial remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil

The rhamnolipid-enhanced Bacillus methylotrophicus remediation achieved the highest PHs removal rate, and the bacterial community assembly process was impacted by deterministic factors, whereas the bacterial community assembly process in other treatments with low removal rates was affected by stochastic factors. When compared to the stochastic assembly process and the PHs removal rate, the deterministic assembly process and the PHs removal rate were found to have a significant positive correlation, indicating that the deterministic assembly process of bacterial communities may mediate the efficient removal of PHs. Therefore, this study recommends that when using microorganisms to remediate contaminated soil, care should be taken to avoid strong soil disturbance because directional regulation of bacterial ecological functions can also contribute to efficient removal of pollutants.