Microorganisms in coal-fired power plant clusters

A total of 44 soil samples were collected from four sites including coal mining area, coal washing area, coal combustion area, and control area in China. By integrating high-throughput sequencing, chemical profiling and source tracking, we quantitatively map the spatial extent of pollution, identify keystone taxa and functional guilds that respond to or mitigate the contamination, and translate these ecological insights into targeted remediation strategies, aimed at accelerating site recovery.