Correlation between microbial diversity and geochemistry of representative elements in the surface environment of the antimony mining area in Xikuangshan, China

Abstract Microbes are key mediators in maintaining environmental stability and the migration of geological elements. Although the effect of environmental factors on the geochemical distribution of elements and microbes in Xikuangshan have been studied, the connection between the above two remains to be clarified. In this study, the distribution of elemental forms, especially heavy metals, various geochemical conditions, and the microbial community compositions of the soil, sediment and water samples collected from different sites of Xikuangshan were investigated to study the correlation between representative elemental geochemistry and microbial diversity. The results show that the pH values of the soil samples were significantly lower than those of the sediment and water samples, and the soil had the highest microbial biomass. The contents of As and Sb in the samples are higher than those of other heavy metal elements, and the most abundant occurrence form of heavy metals is reducible. The most abundant type of the microorganisms is bacteria, followed by fungi and archaea. The correlation analyses between environmental factors and microbial diversities indicated that the microbial community structure composition of Xikuangshan was strictly correlated with the content and speciation of elements. The main factors impacting microbial diversity are pH and redox potential, as well as the content and occurrence forms of Sb, As and Fe. This study is of value for revealing the geochemical characteristics of heavy metal occurrence forms associated with microbial diversity in the Xikuangshan mine and for pollution control of Sb mines.