Differential contributions of nitrifying microorganisms to nitrification in oligotrophic groundwater from the Hainich Critical Zone Exploratory

This study investigates the spatial distribution and niche differentiation of the prokaryotic ammonia oxidizing community from oligotrophic groundwater of karstic limestone aquifers (Hainich Critical Zone Exploratory, Germany). Sampling of groundwater for sequencing was conducted three times in 2018 from ten wells with heterogenous hydrochemical conditions. The bacterial community composition was assessed by amplicon sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene using an Illumina MiSeq device, with the primer pair S-D-Bact-0341-b-S-17/ S-D-Bact-0785-a-A-21.