Effects of Plant Species on Nitrous Oxide Emission and Microbial Community Structure Diversity in Constructed Wetlands

Vegetation is the principal component of the constructed wetland (CW) systems. To better understand the effect of plant species, the nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes and bacterial community structure diversity were compared in different CWs planted with six plants. The results showed that N₂O fluxes had obvious differences in vegetation systems. The higher risk of N₂O emissions was observed in CWs planted with Typha latifolia and Scirpus validus, while the lowest N₂O emission was in Phragmites australis systems. Bacterial communities to understand the bacterial world in the substrate by analyzing data of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) band patterns. The result clearly demonstrated that DGGE profiles revealed marked differences in the response of microbial communities under different plants cover.