High-throughput sequencing analysis of bacterial community spatiotemporal distribution in response to clogging in vertical flow constructed wetlands

The aim of this study was to characterize bacterial communities in vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. The bacterial communities developed lower richness and diversity in response to clogging. Bacterial diversity did not overtly decrease with depth. A variety of bacterial phyla were found in VFCWs' bacterial communities, including Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, among which Proteobacteria was dominant. At the genus level, a spatiotemporal variation was illustrated in the diversity and structure of bacterial communities. Clustering analysis of bacterial composition in the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the phylum and genus levels had a consistent trend, namely, that bacterial communities were more similar at similar column depths.