Aromatic compounds releases aroused by sediment resuspension alter nitrate transformation rates and pathways during aerobic-anoxic transition

Abstract Aromatic compounds (ACs) releases aroused by sediment resuspension would certainly change the concentrations of suspended sediment (SPS) and organic carbon, which may alter nitrate-N transformation during aerobic-anoxic transition. To prove this, three typical ACs (aniline, nitrobenzene, and methylbenzene) with different octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow) were selected to investigate the effects of ACs releases aroused by sediment resuspension on nitrate-N transformation during aerobic-anoxic transition. ACs releases aroused by sediment resuspension accelerated nitrate-N transformation and enhanced the potential for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), compared to that without sediment resuspension. With sediment resuspension, methylbenzene releases affected nitrate-N transformation rates and pathways more significantly than aniline and nitrobenzene releases. Microbial analysis indicated that sediment resuspension created complicated microbial co-occurrence networks and changed the associations among bacteria; dominant bacteria abundance varied with different ACs releases. Further analysis revealed that ACs distributed in SPS, which increased with logKow, indirectly affected nitrate-N transformation rates and pathways via altering dominant bacteria abundance and electron transport system activity (ETSA). Especially, ETSA, which was positively associated with ACs distributed in SPS, affected nitrate-N transformation most directly. Overall, ACs release fate played important roles in nitrate-N transformation, causing ammonia-N retention and alterations in nitrogen cycle during aerobic-anoxic transition.