Environmental microbial dynamics in groundwater flow process at a headwater catchment

We investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of the microbial community in spring water and groundwater to reveal the relationship between the groundwater flow system and microbial communities. We performed intensive water sampling and monitoring in a mountainous forested catchment in Kawamata Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Basic hydrological data are available for this catchment. We monitored 7 piezometers and a spring across the ridge, hillslope, and valley. During the sampling, monitoring, and analysis periods, we obtained microbial parameters (such as the density of prokaryotes by total direct counting, community constituents revealed by the next-generation sequencing method, and microbial diversity) as well as physicochemical parameters, general water quality, and mean residence time of groundwater using SF6.