Assessing the impact of zero-valent iron (ZVI) nanotechnology on soil microbial structure and functionality: A molecular approach

After strip mining, soils typically suffer from compaction, low nutrient availability, loss of soil organic carbon, and a compromised soil microbial community. Prairie restorations can improve ecosystem services on former agricultural lands, but prairie restorations on mine lands are relatively under-studied. This study investigated the impact of prairie restoration on mine lands, focusing on the plant community and soil properties. In southeast Ohio, 305 ha within a ~2000 ha area of former mine land was converted to native prairie through herbicide and planting between 1999–2016. Soil and vegetation sampling occurred from 2016–2018. Plant community composition shifted with prairie age, with highest native cover in the oldest prairie areas. Prairie plants were more abundant in older prairies. The oldest prairies had significantly more soil fungal biomass and higher soil microbial biomass. However, many soil properties (e.g., soil nutrients, β-glucosoidase activity, and soil organic carbon), as well as plant species diversity and richness trended higher in prairies, but were not significantly different from baseline cool-season grasslands. Overall, restoration with prairie plant communities slowly shifted soil properties, but mining disturbance was still the most significant driver in controlling soil properties. Prairie restoration on reclaimed mine land was effective in establishing a native plant community, with the associated ecosystem benefits.

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Can repeated soil amendment with biogas digestates increase soil suppressiveness toward non-specific soil-borne pathogens in agricultural lands?

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170520000393 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

L. M. Manici ◽

F. Caputo ◽

G. A. Cappelli ◽

E. Ceotto

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Biomass Production ◽

Soil Amendment ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Amended Soils ◽

Soil Suppressiveness ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Soil Borne Pathogens ◽

The Impact ◽

Plant Biomass Production

Abstract Soil suppressiveness which is the natural ability of soil to support optimal plant growth and health is the resultant of multiple soil microbial components; which implies many difficulties when estimating this soil condition. Microbial benefits for plant health from repeated digestate applications were assessed in three experimental sites surrounding anaerobic biogas plants in an intensively cultivated area of northern Italy. A 2-yr trial was performed in 2017 and 2018 by performing an in-pot plant growth assay, using soil samples taken from two fields for each experimental site, of which one had been repeatedly amended with anaerobic biogas digestate and the other had not. These fields were similar in management and crop sequences (maize was the recurrent crop) for the last 10 yr. Plant growth response in the bioassay was expressed as plant biomass production, root colonization frequency by soil-borne fungi were estimated to evaluate the impact of soil-borne pathogens on plant growth, abundance of Pseudomonas and actinomycetes populations in rhizosphere were estimated as beneficial soil microbial indicators. Repeated soil amendment with digestate increased significantly soil capacity to support plant biomass production as compared to unamended control in both the years. Findings supported evidence that this increase was principally attributable to a higher natural ability of digestate-amended soils to reduce root infection by saprophytic soil-borne pathogens whose inoculum was increased by the recurrent maize cultivation. Pseudomonas and actinomycetes were always more abundant in digestate-amended soils suggesting that both these large bacterial groups were involved in the increase of their natural capacity to control soil-borne pathogens (soil suppressiveness).

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Soil microbial biomass—Interpretation and consideration for soil monitoring

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr10203 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 287 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

V. Gonzalez-Quiñones ◽

E. A. Stockdale ◽

N. C. Banning ◽

F. C. Hoyle ◽

Y. Sawada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Soil Microorganisms ◽

Soil Microbial Biomass ◽

Biological Function ◽

Anthropogenic Change ◽

Soil Monitoring ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Quality Assessments ◽

The Impact

Since 1970, measurement of the soil microbial biomass (SMB) has been widely adopted as a relatively simple means of assessing the impact of environmental and anthropogenic change on soil microorganisms. The SMB is living and dynamic, and its activity is responsible for the regulation of organic matter transformations and associated energy and nutrient cycling in soil. At a gross level, an increase in SMB is considered beneficial, while a decline in SMB may be considered detrimental if this leads to a decline in biological function. However, absolute SMB values are more difficult to interpret. Target or reference values of SMB are needed for soil quality assessments and to allow ameliorative action to be taken at an appropriate time. However, critical values have not yet been successfully identified for SMB. This paper provides a conceptual framework which outlines how SMB values could be interpreted and measured, with examples provided within an Australian context.

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The Impact of Metal Contamination on Soil Microbial Community Dynamics

Modern Soil Microbiology ◽

10.1201/9780429059186-24 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 403-419

Author(s):

David C. Gillan ◽

Rob Van Houdt

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Soil Microbial Community ◽

Metal Contamination ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Microbial Community Dynamics ◽

The Impact

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Effect of biofertilizers on soil microbial count, nutrient availability and uptake under november sown onion

Journal of Applied and Natural Science ◽

10.31018/jans.v9i1.1149 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 55-59

Author(s):

Dilpreet Talwar ◽

Kulbir Singh ◽

Jagdish Singh

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Availability ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizae ◽

N Uptake ◽

Nutrient Status ◽

Recommended Dose ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Microbial Count ◽

Available Nitrogen ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

The Impact

Biofertilizers improves the soil microbial content, Soil nutrient status and nutrient uptake by plant. In an experiment, fifteen treatments comprised of various combinations of biofertilizers, organic manures and chemical fertilizers were compared to access the impact of different sources of nutrient on performance of onion. The highest soil organic carbon (0.40%) was observed in the treatments T12 (Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @ 20 t/ha) and T11 (FYM myctes count (29.9 X 104) was recorded in T11 (FYM @ 20 t/ha + Azotobacter + VAM) treatment while highest fungal @ 20 t/ha + Azotobacter + Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM)). Highest bacterial (24.5 X 106) and actino-count (17.5 X 103) was observed in T3 (Azospirillium+ Recommended dose of NPK) treatment. At the time of harvesting, available nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and available potassium (K) were higher in treatment T3 (Azospirillium + Recommended dose of NPK), T9 (Azotobacter+ VAM + Recommended dose of NPK) and T13 (Poultry treatment (162.6 Kg ha-1) as compared to all other treatments except T1 and T9 treatments while P uptake (13.6 Kg ha-Manure @ 5t/ha) treatments respectively than that in other treatments. Azospirillum and Azotobacter application along with recommended dose of N, P and K improved the fertility status of soil. The N uptake was significantly higher in T3 treatments. The present study highlights the need of use of biofertilizers along with organic and inorganic 1) was significantly higher in T9 treatment than that in other treatments except T1, T3, T5 and T7 treatments. The K uptake was significantly higher in T3 treatment (126.9 Kg ha-1) as compare to all other treatments except T1 and T9 manures/fertilizer to enhance the nutrient availability and improve soil health.

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Dust-related impacts of mining operations on rangeland vegetation and soil: a case study in Yazd province, Iran

10.21203/rs.3.rs-245412/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shahab IbrahimPour ◽

Alireza KhavaninZadeh ◽

Ruhollah Taghizadeh mehrjardi ◽

Hans De Boeck ◽

Alvina Gul

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Microbial Respiration ◽

Germination Rate ◽

Windward Side ◽

Leeward Side ◽

Mining Operations ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Soil Microbial Respiration ◽

The Impact

Abstract Destructive mining operations are affecting large areas of natural ecosystems, especially in arid lands. The present study aims at investigating the impact of iron mine exploitation on vegetation and soil in Nodoushan (Yazd province, central Iran). Based on the dominant wind, topography, slope, vegetation and soil of the area, soil and vegetation parameters close to the mine were recorded and analyzed according to the distance from the mine. In order to obtain the vegetation cover, a transect and plot on the windward and leeward side of the mine, with 100 m intervals and three replicates at each sampling location was used, yielding 96 soil samples. The amount of dust on the vegetation, the seed weight and seed germination rate of Artemisia sp. as the dominant species within the area, and the soil microbial respiration were measured. The relationship between vegetation cover and distance from the mine was not linear, which was due to an interplay between pollution from the mine and local grazing, while other factors did increase or decrease linearly. The results showed that, as the distance from the mine increased, the weight of 1000 seeds of Artemisia sp. was significantly increased from 271 to 494 mg and seed germination rate and soil microbial respiration were significantly increased from 11.7 to 48.4 % and from 4.5 to 5.9 mg CO2 g− 1 soil day− 1 respectively, while the amount of dust significantly decreased from 43.5 to 6 mg (g plant)−1 between the distance of 100 to 600 m from the mine in the leeward direction. A similar trend was observed in the windward side, though negative effects were lower compared to the same distance along the leeward sample locations. The direct and indirect effects on plant growth and health from mining impacts generally decreased linearly with increasing distance from the mine, up to at least 600 m. Our study serves as a showcase for the potential of bio-indicators as a cost-effective method for assessing impacts of mining activities on the surrounding environment.

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