Sediment microbial communities in long‐term wetland restorations within the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States

Hydrologic wetland restoration in the Prairie Pothole Region is a common management practice to facilitate habitat and ecosystem recovery after degradation or drainage. Little is known about the recovery of sediment microbial communities relative to other organisms, such as vegetation, fish, and macroinvertebrates, even though they are critical for overall ecosystem health. We collected benthic sediments from natural and restored wetlands, where restorations had occurred 26–33 years prior, to analyze microbial communities. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate differences in the structure and predicted function of prokaryotic microbial communities among natural and restored wetland groups. Water pH, conductivity, temperature, and major ions were also measured to investigate differences among wetland groups, as well as to evaluate their potential influences on microbial community composition. We found no significant differences in any microbial metric or water quality variable among wetland groups. There were also no significant influences from water variables on microbial community composition. Overall, our results suggest that 26 years allows ample time for microorganisms to recover and resemble natural wetland communities. These findings could indicate that subsequent ecosystem functions may also recover within this time frame.