scholarly journals Iron and Manganese Biogeochemistry in Forested Coal Mine Spoil

Soil Systems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Herndon ◽  
Brianne Yarger ◽  
Hannah Frederick ◽  
David Singer
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Reaction Front ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Forest Vegetation ◽  
Abandoned Mine ◽  
Mine Spoil ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
Shallow Soils

Abandoned mine lands continue to serve as non-point sources of acid and metal contamination to water bodies long after mining operations have ended. Although soils formed from abandoned mine spoil can support forest vegetation, as observed throughout the Appalachian coal basin, the effects of vegetation on metal cycling in these regions remain poorly characterized. Iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) biogeochemistry were examined at a former coal mine where deciduous trees grow on mine spoil deposited nearly a century ago. Forest vegetation growing on mine spoil effectively removed dissolved Mn from pore water; however, mineral weathering at a reaction front below the rooting zone resulted in high quantities of leached Mn. Iron was taken up in relatively low quantities by vegetation but was more readily mobilized by dissolved organic carbon produced in the surface soil. Dissolved Fe was low below the reaction front, suggesting that iron oxyhydroxide precipitation retains Fe within the system. These results indicate that mine spoil continues to produce Mn contamination, but vegetation can accumulate Mn and mitigate its leaching from shallow soils, potentially also decreasing Mn leaching from deeper soils by reducing infiltration. Vegetation had less impact on Fe mobility, which was retained as Fe oxides following oxidative weathering.

scholarly journals Biogeochemical Controls on the Potential for Long-Term Contaminant Leaching from Soils Developing on Historic Coal Mine Spoil

Soil Systems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
David Singer ◽  
Elizabeth Herndon ◽  
Laura Zemanek ◽  
Kortney Cole ◽  
Tyler Sanda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Toxic Metal ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Mine Spoil ◽  
Secondary Phases ◽  
Undisturbed Soil

Coal mine spoil is widespread in US coal mining regions, and the potential long-term leaching of toxic metal(loid)s is a significant and underappreciated issue. This study aimed to determine the flux of contaminants from historic mine coal spoil at a field site located in Appalachian Ohio (USA) and link pore water composition and solid-phase composition to the weathering reaction stages within the soils. The overall mineralogical and microbial community composition indicates that despite very different soil formation pathways, soils developing on historic coal mine spoil and an undisturbed soil are currently dominated by similar mineral weathering reactions. Both soils contained pyrite coated with clays and secondary oxide minerals. However, mine spoil soil contained abundant residual coal, with abundant Fe- and Mn- (oxy)hydroxides. These secondary phases likely control and mitigate trace metal (Cu, Ni, and Zn) transport from the soils. While Mn was highly mobile in Mn-enriched soils, Fe and Al mobility may be more controlled by dissolved organic carbon dynamics than mineral abundance. There is also likely an underappreciated risk of Mn transport from coal mine spoil, and that mine spoil soils could become a major source of metals if local biogeochemical conditions change.

scholarly journals A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Assessment of Origin, Fate and Ecotoxicity of Metal(loid)s from Legacy Coal Mine Tailings

Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Honorine Gauthier-Manuel ◽  
Diane Radola ◽  
Flavien Choulet ◽  
Martine Buatier ◽  
Raphaël Vauthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Mine Tailings ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Subcellular Fractionation ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Biological Responses ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
Coal Tailings ◽  
Produce Acid

Over the course of history, the development of human societies implied the exploitation of mineral resources which generated huge amounts of mining wastes leading to substantial environmental contamination by various metal(loid)s. This is especially the case of coal mine tailings which, subjected to weathering reactions, produce acid mine drainage (AMD), a recurring ecological issue related to current and past mining activities. In this study, we aimed to determine the origin, the fate and the ecotoxicity of metal(loid)s leached from a historical coal tailing heap to the Beuveroux river (Franche-Comté, France) using a combination of mineralogical, chemical and biological approaches. In the constitutive materials of the tailings, we identified galena, tetrahedrite and bournonite as metal-rich minerals and their weathering has led to massive contamination of the water and suspended particles of the river bordering the heap. The ecotoxicity of the AMD has been assessed using Chironomus riparius larvae encaged in the field during a one-month biomonitoring campaign. The larvae showed lethal and sub-lethal (growth and emergence inhibition and delay) impairments at the AMD tributary and near downstream stations. Metal bioaccumulation and subcellular fractionation in the larvae tissues revealed a strong bioavailability of, notably, As, Pb and Tl explaining the observed biological responses. Thus, more than 70 years after the end of mining operations, the coal tailings remain a chronic source of contamination and environmental risks in AMD effluent receiving waters.

Colloidal metal transport in soils developing on historic coal mine spoil

2021 ◽  
pp. 104933
Author(s):  
Md Abu Raihan Chowdhury ◽  
David M. Singer ◽  
Elizabeth Herndon
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Metal Transport ◽  
Mine Spoil ◽  
Colloidal Metal

Soil constraints affecting the forest-biological recultivation of coal-mine spoil banks in Bulgaria

1994 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sv. Gentcheva-Kostadinova ◽  
E. Zheleva ◽  
R. Petrova ◽  
Martin J. Haigh
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Mine Spoil ◽  
Soil Constraints ◽  
Spoil Banks

scholarly journals Walker and Syers enter the critical zone: Integrating decadal scale root development with longer term soil development to understand terrestrial nutrient cycling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Hauser ◽  
Jon Chorover ◽  
Charles Cook ◽  
Daniel Markewitz ◽  
Craig Rasmussen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Development ◽  
Critical Zone ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Vegetation Development ◽  
Nutrient Sources ◽  
Development Models ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
Decadal Scale

Most terrestrial nutrient sources are hypothesized to shift in dominance from mineral- to organic matter (OM)-derived over millennia. We investigated how overlaying this hypothesis with plant rooting dynamics that can feedback to soil development offers insight into ecosystem functioning. To test the hypothesis that the nutritional importance of OM as mineral weathering proceeds is mediated by rooting system nutrient economies that vary with vegetation development, we paired litterfall decay experiments with soil mineralogical data from diverse forests across the Critical Zone (CZ) Observatory Network. We demonstrate that sources of phosphorus shift from OM-bound stocks to minerals as the rooting zone expands during the transition from mid to late stages of forest growth. Root-driven, plant-soil feedbacks thus can prompt inconsistencies with soil development models that posit a unidirectional transition from mineral to organic nutrient dominance, and illuminate how forest growth and land use influence nutrient bioavailability in Earth’s CZ.

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