Fig. 4

NMDS based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarities between microbial compositions, at genus level, grouped according to the locations a and sample types b. A bi-plot is overlaid on the ordination to the displayed geochemical variables that are correlated with the microbial community structure. Only variables that have a significant correlation (P < 0.05) are shown. The abbreviations represent the datasets. First letters refer to the five hot springs (A = Akwar, E = Elegedi, G = Garbanabra, J = Gelti and M = Maiwooi), while the second letters are for sample types (A = mats, S = wet sediment, and W = water)