Soil nematodes in the rhizosphere of a metal accumulating plant in a pollution gradient from a non-ferrous metal factory in Bulgaria

Nematodes were studied at sites with low, medium and high level of soil metal contamination in the area of a non-ferrous metal plant. Soil total metal concentrations ranged from values below their maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) in soil to 48, 44, 16 and 4 times higher than the MPC for Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu, respectively. Nematodes were isolated from uncultivated, monoculture stands of the metal accumulating mustard weed (Lepidium draba L., Brassicaceae) in April, May and June 2015. Overall, 55 nematode genera were identified during the investigation: 50 genera at low, 39 at medium, 37 at high levels of soil metal pollution. Several nematode diversity measures and the specific responses of some nematode genera differentiated the three investigated sites. Both nematode richness (S) and diversity (H') of genera correlated negatively with the soil metal concentrations in the following order: Cd>Pb>Zn>Cu. Several genera (Alaimus, Cylindrolaimus, Paramphidelus, Scutylenchus, Steinernema) were common at the least contaminated site and were either rare or not found at the rest of the sites. Some genera (Clarkus, Filenchus) were most abundant at the medium level of contamination. The abundance of eleven genera correlated negatively with the metal concentrations in the samples. Most of the negative correlations (Acrobeles, Coslenchus, Geomonhystera, Plectus) were in the following order: Cd>Zn>Pb>Cu. The abundance of nine genera correlated positively with the metal concentrations and most of their correlations were in the order: Cu>Pb>Zn>Cd. Faunal profile analyses of the free living nematode assemblages revealed higher values of Structure index (SI) at low (75–91%) and medium (77–87%) levels of contamination in comparison with the most polluted site (35–46%). Nematode structure metabolic footprints (SFP) at low and medium levels of contamination were much higher than at the high pollution level. Both SI and SFP at the medium level of metal contamination indicated low bioavailability and low toxicity of Pb (1290 mg kg-1soil), Cd (34 mg kg-1soil), Zn (1779 mg kg-1soil) and Cu (190 mg kg-1soil) for the free-living nematodes, isolated from the rhizosphere of the mustard weed at this site. The rhizosphere of the metal accumulating plant might be protective for these nematodes, providing conditions of reduced bioavailable metals in contaminated soil during the vegetation period of the plants.

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Characterization and within-site variation of environmental metal concentrations around a contaminated site using a community-engaged approach

Chemosphere ◽

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129915 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 272 ◽

pp. 129915

Author(s):

Patrick Ringwald ◽

Cecelia Chapin ◽

Christopher Iceman ◽

Meghanne E. Tighe ◽

Matthew Sisk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Contaminated Site ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Site Variation

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Comprehensive evaluation of environmental availability, pollution level and leaching heavy metals behavior in non-ferrous metal tailings

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112639 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 290 ◽

pp. 112639

Author(s):

Lei Jiang ◽

Hongjuan Sun ◽

Tongjiang Peng ◽

Wenjin Ding ◽

Bo Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Ferrous Metal ◽

Pollution Level ◽

Environmental Availability

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Environmental impact of fuel stations on some heavy metal concentrations in nearby surface crust soils in urban areas: A case study of soil heavy metal contamination

IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1088/1757-899x/745/1/012164 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 745 ◽

pp. 012164 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ahmed M. Hussein ◽

Hussein Talab Nhabih ◽

Dhiaa Neama Jabbar

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metal ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Metal Contamination ◽

Heavy Metal Contamination ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Heavy Metal Concentrations ◽

Soil Heavy Metal ◽

Surface Crust

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Metal contamination of urban soils in Cork, Ireland

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15261 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hannah Binner ◽

Timothy Sullivan ◽

Maria E. Mc Namara

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Metal Contamination ◽

Urban Soils ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Ex Situ ◽

City Centre ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Ph Values ◽

Background Levels

<p>Soil contamination is widespread across Europe. In particular, contamination of urban soils by metals is poorly characterised. This is a major environmental concern, especially given that urban recreational amenities may be located on former industrial sites and/or may possess ex situ soils derived from industrial areas. We surveyed soils from nine urban recreational sites (15 samples per site) in Cork city in order to assess the degree of metal contamination. The results show that Pb concentrations exceed national background levels in all soil samples from all sites by a mean of 600 % and at least 140 %. Mn, Fe and Zn are enriched above background levels in all soil samples from three (Mn and Fe) to five (Zn) of the sites and, at the remaining sites, show 7 &#8211; 14 localised hotspots. Similar hotspots characterise Cu, Rb and Sr, which each exceed background levels at eight or more sampling locations at four sites. Co, Ni, As and Sn concentrations exceed background levels in at least three hotspots at each of three to six sites. Overall, metal concentrations are highest in the sites closest to the city centre, reflecting diverse sources that potentially include traffic and current and historical domestic coal burning and industry. At each urban site, the element grouping Zn and Pb recurs in 50 to 80 % of locations and enrichment in the element grouping Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb recurs in approx. 50 % of locations; Ni and As recur in approx. 10 % of the locations. At three sites, elevated concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb are associated with high LOI (Loss-on-ignition) values &#8211; a proxy for the amount of soil organic matter present &#8211; and near-neutral pH values. Conversely, low LOI and acidic pH values are associated with lower concentrations of these elements. This indicates that soil metal concentrations are influenced by the amount of organic matter present and by pH. &#160;Future analyses and experiments will further investigate links between soil organic matter and metal concentrations.</p>

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Physiological and Cytological Responses of Deschampsia cespitosa and Populus tremuloides to Soil Metal Contamination

Water Air & Soil Pollution ◽

10.1007/s11270-015-2382-x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 226 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Melanie Mehes-Smith ◽

Kabwe K. Nkongolo

Keyword(s):

Populus Tremuloides ◽

Metal Contamination ◽

Deschampsia Cespitosa ◽

Soil Metal Contamination ◽

Soil Metal

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A survey of four study areas examining Bacillus cereus population distributions and soil metal concentrations

Open-File Report ◽

10.3133/ofr91437 ◽

1991 ◽

Author(s):

Robert E. Tucker ◽

John B. McHugh

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Cereus ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Population Distributions ◽

Soil Metal

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Mapping the Urban Lead Exposome: A Detailed Analysis of Soil Metal Concentrations at the Household Scale Using Citizen Science

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15071531 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 1531 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Gabriel Filippelli ◽

Jessica Adamic ◽

Deborah Nichols ◽

John Shukle ◽

Emeline Frix

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

The United States ◽

Metal Concentrations ◽

Soil Lead ◽

Urban Core ◽

Lead And Zinc ◽

Property Scale ◽

Core Soil ◽

The City ◽

Soil Metal

An ambitious citizen science effort in the city of Indianapolis (IN, USA) led to the collection and analysis of a large number of samples at the property scale, facilitating the analysis of differences in soil metal concentrations as a function of property location (i.e., dripline, yard, and street) and location within the city. This effort indicated that dripline soils had substantially higher values of lead and zinc than other soil locations on a given property, and this pattern was heightened in properties nearer the urban core. Soil lead values typically exceeded the levels deemed safe for children’s play areas in the United States (<400 ppm), and almost always exceeded safe gardening guidelines (<200 ppm). As a whole, this study identified locations within properties and cities that exhibited the highest exposure risk to children, and also exhibited the power of citizen science to produce data at a spatial scale (i.e., within a property boundary), which is usually impossible to feasibly collect in a typical research study.

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Nitrate-Utilizing Microorganisms Resistant to Multiple Metals from the Heavily Contaminated Oak Ridge Reservation

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00896-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 85 (17) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michael P. Thorgersen ◽

Xiaoxuan Ge ◽

Farris L. Poole ◽

Morgan N. Price ◽

Adam P. Arkin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Metal Contamination ◽

Nitrate Removal ◽

Nitrate Contamination ◽

Contaminated Site ◽

Sequence Variant ◽

Oak Ridge ◽

Global Issue ◽

16S Rna ◽

High Concentrations

ABSTRACTContamination of environments with nitrate generated by industrial processes and the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers is a growing problem worldwide. While nitrate can be removed from contaminated areas by microbial denitrification, nitrate frequently occurs with other contaminants, such as heavy metals, that have the potential to impede the process. Here, nitrate-reducing microorganisms were enriched and isolated from both groundwater and sediments at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) using concentrations of nitrate and metals (Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, and U) similar to those observed in a contaminated environment at ORR. Seven new metal-resistant, nitrate-reducing strains were characterized, and their distribution across both noncontaminated and contaminated areas at ORR was examined. While the seven strains have various pH ranges for growth, carbon source preferences, and degrees of resistance to individual and combinations of metals, all were able to reduce nitrate at similar rates both in the presence and absence of the mixture of metals found in the contaminated ORR environment. Four strains were identified in groundwater samples at different ORR locations by exact 16S RNA sequence variant analysis, and all four were found in both noncontaminated and contaminated areas. By using environmentally relevant metal concentrations, we successfully isolated multiple organisms from both ORR noncontaminated and contaminated environments that are capable of reducing nitrate in the presence of extreme mixed-metal contamination.IMPORTANCENitrate contamination is a global issue that affects groundwater quality. In some cases, cocontamination of groundwater with nitrate and mixtures of heavy metals could decrease microbially mediated nitrate removal, thereby increasing the duration of nitrate contamination. Here, we used metal and nitrate concentrations that are present in a contaminated site at the Oak Ridge Reservation to isolate seven metal-resistant strains. All were able to reduce nitrate in the presence of high concentrations of a mixture of heavy metals. Four of seven strains were located in pristine as well as contaminated sites at the Oak Ridge Reservation. Further study of these nitrate-reducing strains will uncover mechanisms of resistance to multiple metals that will increase our understanding of the effect of nitrate and metal contamination on groundwater microbial communities.

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