Bioremediation and pathogen load reduction potential of bacterial and mycorrhizal communities in natural and constructed wetland systems

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Sustaining Canadian society requires reliable access to clean water; however, human activities have been responsible for contaminating ground and surface water supplies. Human population growth is also placing more pressure on limited water supplies. Therefore, contaminant protection from source water supplies is necessary. This can occur through conventional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processing, natural removal through existing wetlands or by a combination of WWTPs and discharge to constructed wetlands. It is well recognized that microbial and plant communities are responsible for contaminant removal in constructed and natural wetlands, however, optimizing the process has been limited by a lack of understanding of the roles, and interaction among these wetland species. The goal of our research program is to understand how three-way interactions occurring between plants, fungi and bacteria affect contaminant and pathogen removal in constructed and natural wetlands, and how the interactions can be improved in order to increase contaminant removal. Through field and laboratory studies, we will describe relationships among wetland biota, gauge contaminant removal efficiencies of select groupings of plant/fungal and bacterial communities, measure the stability of these groups and identify specific processes involved. Our research will address the questions: How do site conditions and dominant plant species affect microbial community structure? Do different groupings of plant, fungal and bacterial communities differ in contaminant removal efficiency? How stable are the communities? What mechanisms underlie the efficiency of a given community? Addressing these questions will lead to better wetland management strategies in the ongoing use of these systems to protect clean water.