Groundwater flow system and microbial dynamics of groundwater in a headwater catchment.

• The prokaryotic density was 103 to 106 cells/mL in groundwater and spring water. • Groundwater with longer residence time contained thermophilic bacteria. • The community constituents had been changed among the groundwater flow processes. • Prokaryotic information can reflect changes in groundwater flow processes. Besides surface water systems, groundwater also provides a habitat for prokaryotes. The prokaryotes inhabiting groundwater are affected by the environment that they grow in. Owing to the environmental specificity, some prokaryotic community constituents might thus provide information on local subsurface growth conditions as well as advective transport processes in case of rapid dislocation. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of prokaryotic communities in groundwater and spring water to examine the relationship between the groundwater flow system and prokaryotic dynamics. We sampled and monitored the water in a mountainous forested catchment in Kawamata Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Seven piezometers and a spring located across a ridge, hillslope, and valley were monitored. Prokaryotic information, such as density estimated by total direct counting, community constituents and diversity using the next-generation sequencing methods, physicochemical parameters, general water quality, and groundwater mean residence time using sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6) were analyzed. Our results showed that the mean residence time of groundwater and spring water ranged from less than 1 year to 30 years. The prokaryotic density ranged from 5.37 × 103 cells/mL to 2.01 × 106 cells/mL (n = 60). As the mean residence time increased, the density of prokaryotes in the shallow subsurface also increased, whereas that of the prokaryotes in the deep subsurface decreased. The contribution of deep groundwater to the examined groundwater is inferred using the groundwater residence time and prokaryotic information, including density and specific constituents. The stable water isotopes did not suggest the deep groundwater contribution to the groundwater at the ridge in the high-rainfall period; however, the SiO 2 concentration indicated that. Elucidating the prokaryotic information along with existing hydrological tracers may enable a better understanding of groundwater flow processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]