Recovered Gases and Bacteria from the Clostridium Genus as Ecological Condition Indicators of Bottom Sediments of the Eastern Donbass Small Rivers

Abstract

The results of determination of methane, total hydrogen sulfide and sulfite reducing clostridia in bottom sediments of small rivers and reservoirs of the Eastern Donbass are presented. The horizontal and vertical distribution of levels of reduced gases in bottom sediments is analyzed. The ecological condition of the bottom sediments was estimated by the clostridia titer and the methane index. The ranking of the ecological condition of bottom sediments according to the content of total hydrogen sulfide in them is performed. The relationship between pH and Eh values, methane and hydrogen sulfide concentrations and the number of sulfite reducing clostridia was studied, which allowed to discover new sides of the metabolic cycle of reduced gases in bottom sediments of freshwater ecosystems located in the zone of anthropogenic influence. The researches carried out allow to draw a conclusion about significant prolonged anthropogenic impact, mainly of domestic and industrial wastewater on water objects of the Eastern Donbass.