Rock-Solubilizing Microbial Inoculums Have Enormous Potential as Ecological Remediation Agents to Promote Plant Growth

Anthropogenic overexploitation poses significant threats to the ecosystems that surround mining sites, which also have tremendous negative impacts on human health and society safety. The technological capacity of the ecological restoration of mine sites is imminent, however, it remains a challenge to sustain the green restorative effects of ecological reconstruction. As a promising and environmentally friendly method, the use of microbial technologies to improve existing ecological restoration strategies have shown to be effective. Nonetheless, research into the mechanisms and influences of rock-solubilizing microbial inoculums on plant growth is negligible and the lack of this knowledge inhibits the broader application of this technology. We compared the effects of rock-solubilizing microbial inoculums on two plant species. The results revealed that rock-solubilizing microbial inoculums significantly increased the number of nodules and the total nodule volume of Robinia pseudoacacia L. but not of Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. The reason of the opposite reactions is possibly because the growth of R. pseudoacacia was significantly correlated with nodule formation, whereas L. bicolor’s growth index was more closely related to soil characteristics and if soil nitrogen content was sufficient to support its growth. Further, we found that soil sucrase activity contributed the most to the height of R. pseudoacacia, and the total volume of root nodules contributed most to its ground diameter and leaf area. Differently, we found a high contribution of total soil carbon to seedling height and ground diameter of L. bicolor, and the soil phosphatase activity contributed the most to the L. bicolor’ s leaf area. Our work suggests that the addition of rock-solubilizing microbial inoculums can enhance the supply capacity of soil nutrients and the ability of plants to take up nutrients for the promotion of plant growth. Altogether, our study provides technical support for the practical application of rock-solubilizing microbes on bare rock in the future.

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Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Alter Fractal Dimension Characteristics of Robinia pseudoacacia L. Seedlings Through Regulating Plant Growth, Leaf Water Status, Photosynthesis, and Nutrient Concentration Under Drought Stress

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation ◽

10.1007/s00344-013-9410-0 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 612-625 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Yurong Yang ◽

Ming Tang ◽

Ronan Sulpice ◽

Hui Chen ◽

Shuai Tian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fractal Dimension ◽

Drought Stress ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Nutrient Concentration ◽

Water Status ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Leaf Water Status ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia L

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Isolation, characterization, and selection of heavy metal-resistant and plant growth-promoting endophytic bacteria from root nodules of Robinia pseudoacacia in a Pb/Zn mining area

Microbiological Research ◽

10.1016/j.micres.2018.09.002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 217 ◽

pp. 51-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Miaochun Fan ◽

Zhenshan Liu ◽

Lijun Nan ◽

Entao Wang ◽

Weimin Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metal ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Endophytic Bacteria ◽

Root Nodules ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Mining Area ◽

Plant Growth Promoting ◽

Growth Promoting ◽

Heavy Metal Resistant ◽

Selection Of

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Specialization for ureide biogenesis in the root nodules of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), an amide exporter

PROTOPLASMA ◽

10.1007/bf01322642 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 157 (1-3) ◽

pp. 102-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Y. Kaneko ◽

E. H. Newcomb

Keyword(s):

Black Locust ◽

Root Nodules ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Ureide Biogenesis ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia L

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Effect of Inoculation and Leaf Litter Amendment on Establishment of Nodule-Forming Frankia Populations in Soil

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.67.6.2603-2609.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 67 (6) ◽

pp. 2603-2609 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Anja Nickel ◽

Oliver Pelz ◽

Dittmar Hahn ◽

Matthias Saurer ◽

Rolf Siegwolf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Leaf Litter ◽

Host Plants ◽

Root Nodules ◽

Group Iv ◽

Nodule Formation ◽

Amended Soils ◽

Group I ◽

Host Infection

ABSTRACT High-N2-fixing activities of Frankiapopulations in root nodules on Alnus glutinosa improve growth performance of the host plant. Therefore, the establishment of active, nodule-forming populations of Frankia in soil is desirable. In this study, we inoculated Frankia strains of Alnus host infection groups I, IIIa, and IV into soil already harboring indigenous populations of infection groups (IIIa, IIIb, and IV). Then we amended parts of the inoculated soil with leaf litter of A. glutinosa and kept these parts of soil without host plants for several weeks until they were spiked with [15N]NO3 and planted with seedlings ofA. glutinosa. After 4 months of growth, we analyzed plants for growth performance, nodule formation, specificFrankia populations in root nodules, and N2fixation rates. The results revealed that introducedFrankia strains incubated in soil for several weeks in the absence of plants remained infective and competitive for nodulation with the indigenous Frankia populations of the soil. Inoculation into and incubation in soil without host plants generally supported subsequent plant growth performance and increased the percentage of nitrogen acquired by the host plants through N2 fixation from 33% on noninoculated, nonamended soils to 78% on inoculated, amended soils. Introduced Frankiastrains representing Alnus host infection groups IIIa and IV competed with indigenous Frankia populations, whereas frankiae of group I were not found in any nodules. When grown in noninoculated, nonamended soil, A. glutinosa plants harbored Frankia populations of only group IIIa in root nodules. This group was reduced to 32% ± 23% (standard deviation) of the Frankia nodule populations when plants were grown in inoculated, nonamended soil. Under these conditions, the introducedFrankia strain of group IV was established in 51% ± 20% of the nodules. Leaf litter amendment during the initial incubation in soil without plants promoted nodulation by frankiae of group IV in both inoculated and noninoculated treatments. Grown in inoculated, amended soils, plants had significantly lower numbers of nodules infected by group IIIa (8% ± 6%) than by group IV (81% ± 11%). On plants grown in noninoculated, amended soil, the originalFrankia root nodule population represented by group IIIa of the noninoculated, nonamended soil was entirely exchanged by aFrankia population belonging to group IV. The quantification of N2 fixation rates by 15N dilution revealed that both the indigenous and the inoculatedFrankia populations of group IV had a higher specific N2-fixing capacity than populations belonging to group IIIa under the conditions applied. These results show that through inoculation or leaf litter amendment, Frankiapopulations with high specific N2-fixing capacities can be established in soils. These populations remain infective on their host plants, successfully compete for nodule formation with other indigenous or inoculated Frankia populations, and thereby increase plant growth performance.

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Effects of defoliation modalities on plant growth, leaf traits, and carbohydrate allocation in Amorpha fruticosa L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L. seedlings

Annals of Forest Science ◽

10.1007/s13595-020-00953-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Ning Wang ◽

Mingming Zhao ◽

Qiang Li ◽

Xiao Liu ◽

Huijia Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Leaf Traits ◽

Amorpha Fruticosa ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia L

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Revegetation in abandoned quarries with landfill stabilized waste and gravels: water dynamics and plant growth – a case study

Solid Earth ◽

10.5194/se-8-1131-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 1131-1139

Author(s):

Cheng-liang Zhang ◽

Jing-jing Feng ◽

Li-ming Rong ◽

Ting-ning Zhao

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Water Content ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Water Dynamics ◽

Leaf Water Content ◽

Rock Fragments ◽

Platycladus Orientalis ◽

Concrete Production ◽

Pavement Construction ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia L

Abstract. Large amounts of quarry wastes are produced during quarrying. Though quarry wastes are commonly used in pavement construction and concrete production, in situ utilization during ecological restoration of abandoned quarries has the advantage of simplicity. In this paper, rock fragments 2–3 cm in size were mixed with landfill stabilized waste (LSW) in different proportions (LSW : gravel, RL), which was called LGM. The water content, runoff and plant growth under natural precipitation were monitored for 2 years using a runoff plot experiment. LGM with a low fraction of LSW was compacted to different degrees to achieve an appropriate porosity; water dynamics and plant growth of compacted LGM were studied in a field experiment. The results showed the following: (1) LGM can be used during restoration in abandoned quarries as growing material for plants. (2) RL had a significant effect on the infiltration and water-holding capacity of LGM and thus influenced the retention of precipitation, water condition and plant growth. LGM with RL ranging from 8:1 to 3:7 was suitable for plant growth, and the target species grew best when RL was 5:5. (3) Compaction significantly enhanced water content of LGM with a low RL of 2:8, but leaf water content of plants was lower or unchanged in the more compacted plots. Moderate compaction was beneficial to the survival and growth of Robinia pseudoacacia L. Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco and Medicago sativa L. were not significantly affected by compaction, and they grew better under a high degree of compaction, which was disadvantageous for the uppermost layer of vegetation.

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Silicate fertilization potentiates the nodule formation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in soybean1

Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical ◽

10.1590/1983-40632018v4851472 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 212-221 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fábio Steiner ◽

Alan Mario Zuffo ◽

Aécio Bush ◽

Diego Muniz da Silva Santos

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Root Nodules ◽

N Uptake ◽

Magnesium Silicate ◽

Nodule Formation ◽

Biological Fixation ◽

Physiological Basis ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Soybean Cultivars ◽

Soybean Plants

ABSTRACT The application of silicon (Si) to the soil can increase the grain yield of the soybean crop by improving the nitrogen biological fixation, due to its beneficial effect on the Bradyrhizobium-soybean symbiosis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of fertilization with calcium and magnesium silicate on plant growth, root nodulation and nitrogen (N) uptake, in two soybean cultivars [BRS 1074 IPRO (transgenic) and BRS-MG 800A (conventional)], under greenhouse conditions. The application of silicate significantly increased the number of root nodules only for the BRS-MG 800A, while the positive effects of the silicate addition on nodule size, chlorophyll level and leaf N concentration were observed in both cultivars. The soybean cultivars show distinct responses to the silicate application, with respect to growth and dry matter yield, being the BRS 1074 IPRO more responsive than the BRS-MG 800A. Therefore, Si may induce the formation of root nodules in soybean plants and lead to significant increases in the nitrogen biological fixation and plant growth. These results highlight that Si is not only involved in the improvement of plant growth, but it can be also considered a crucial element to improve the symbiotic performance of soybean plants. However, the physiological basis of how and where silicate exerts its influence on nodulation and nitrogen biological fixation still remains unknown.

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Variability of anatomical-physiological traits in black locust clones - Robinia pseudoacacia L

Zbornik Matice srpske za prirodne nauke ◽

10.2298/zmspn0416065o ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 65-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sasa Orlovic ◽

Slobodanka Pajevic ◽

Borivoj Krstic ◽

Ljiljana Merkulov ◽

Natasa Nikolic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Photosynthetic Pigments ◽

Vascular Bundle ◽

Black Locust ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽

Physiological Traits ◽

Photosynthetic Production ◽

Robinia Pseudoacacia L ◽

Main Vein ◽

Selection Of

Variability within R. pseudoacacia species represents an important factor in selection of fast-growing genotypes. Therefore, it is important to identify superior individuals according to their anatomical and physiological traits. This paper presents the results of a study of genotype variability of the main leaf anatomical (frequency, length and width of stomata, leaflet thickness among veins, leaflet thickness on the main vein, mesophyll thickness, length and width of vascular bundle of main vein) and physiological (leaf area, photosynthetic pigments content and content of N P, K, Ca, Na) parameters among five clones of Robinia pseudoacacia L. Significant interclonal variations were observed in the investigated parameters. Clone R-56 had the highest N, P, and K concentrations, the largest mesophyll volume and the highest pigment concentration. We concluded that the clone R-56, although without a remarkable leaf area, possesses the ability for high photosynthetic production. The results are going to be used in further work on selection.

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