Natural sulfide rich deposits are common in coastal areas worldwide, including along the Baltic Sea coast. When artificial drainage exposes these deposits to atmospheric oxygen, iron sulfide minerals in the soils are rapidly oxidized. This process turns the potential acid sulfate soils into actual acid sulfate soils and mobilizes large quantities of acidity and leachable toxic metals that cause severe environmental problems. It is known that acidophilic microorganisms living in acid sulfate soils catalyze iron sulfide mineral oxidation. However, only a few studies regarding these communities have been published. In this study, we sampled the oxidized actual acid sulfate soil, the transition zone where oxidation is actively taking place, and the deepest un-oxidized potential acid sulfate soil. Nucleic acids were extracted and 16S rRNA gene amplicons, metagenomes, and metatranscriptomes generated to gain a detailed insight into the communities and their activities. The project will be of great use to microbiologists, environmental biologists, geochemists, and geologists as there is hydrological and geochemical monitoring from the site stretching back for many years.

富含天然硫化物的沉积物在包括波罗的海沿岸在内的全球沿海地区都很普遍。当人工排水将这些沉积物暴露于大气中的氧气时，土壤中的硫化铁矿物会迅速被氧化。此过程将潜在的酸性硫酸盐土壤变成了实际的酸性硫酸盐土壤，并动员了大量的酸性和可浸出的有毒金属，这些金属会造成严重的环境问题。已知生活在酸性硫酸盐土壤中的嗜酸性微生物催化硫化铁矿物的氧化。但是，有关这些社区的研究很少。在这项研究中，我们对氧化的实际酸性硫酸盐土壤，活跃发生氧化的过渡带以及最深的未氧化的潜在酸性硫酸盐土壤进行了采样。提取核酸并生成16S rRNA基因扩增子，元基因组和元转录组，以深入了解社区及其活动。该项目将对微生物学家，环境生物学家，地球化学家和地质学家有很大的帮助，因为该地点的水文和地球化学监测可以追溯到很多年。