Microbial diversity throughout riverbed drying

The occurrence of dry riverbed periods worldwide has increased mainly due to climate change and anthropogenic water withdrawal. Riverbed drying can significantly affect sediment microbial communities, crucial drivers for lotic system's biogeochemical processes. Our study aimed to examine riverbed sediments (with high and low OM content) drying effects on the bacterial and fungal community structure. Using sandy sediment from river Spree, Germany, we run an outdoor mesocosm set up to assess three different drying intensity (low, moderate, and high) effects on sediment-associated bacterial and fungal community assembly and activity over 10, 30, and 90 day period.