The coal mining subsidence area constitutes a distinct ecotone in the transition from agricultural soil to sediment, yet the microbially mediated nitrogen cycle within it remains inadequately understood. This investigation comprehensively analyzed physicochemical properties, microbial communities, functional genes, and co-occurrence networks along a 0–6500 mm depth gradient. Results indicated that pH transitioned from acidic to alkaline, while TN, TP, OM, and NH4+–N accumulated with depth. NO3−–N decreased rapidly within 1000 mm and then stabilized. Alpha-diversity showed an S-shaped increase in richness, with Shannon index peaking at 1500 mm. Beta-diversity shifted along PC1, and the shallow subsidence area (SS) influenced by NO3−–N; the transition zone (TZ) regulated by OM, TN, and NH4+–N; deep subsidence area (DS) was constrained by TP and pH. Microbial communities transitioned from aerobic/facultative to strictly anaerobic phyla, yet Pseudomonadota remained dominant (24–32%) across depths. With increasing depth, gene abundances for denitrification, assimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (ANRA), and nitrate assimilation declined, while those for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and nitrification increased; nitrogen fixation remained weak. Co-occurrence networks shifted from highly connected, short-pathlength, and clustered in TZ to highly modular and long-pathlength in DS, with Aminicenantes, Syntrophus, and Methanoregula as key taxa. Overall, the thick and stable reducing zone in the subsidence area restructured the nitrogen cycle, shifting terminal products from N2 removal to NH4+ retention. These findings advance the understanding of nitrogen transformation in soil-sediment ecotones and provide a mechanistic framework for nitrogen cycling in mining-affected ecosystems.
Meng et al. (2025) studied this question.