Response of microbial communities to exogenous nitrate nitrogen input in black and odorous sediment.

Since nitrate nitrogen (NO-N) input has proved an effective approach for the treatment of black and odorous river waterbody, it was controversial whether the total nitrogen concentration standard should be raised when the effluent from the sewage treatment plant is discharged into the polluted river. To reveal the effect of exogenous nitrate (NO-N) on black odorous waterbody, sediments with different features from contaminated rivers were collected, and the changes of physical and chemical characteristics and microbial community structure in sediments before and after the addition of exogenous NO-N were investigated. The results showed that after the input of NO-N, reducing substances such as acid volatile sulfide (AVS) in the sediment decreased by 80 % on average, ferrous (Fe) decreased by 50 %, yet the changing trend of ammonia nitrogen (NH-N) in some sediment samples increased while others decreased.