The impact of petroleum contamination on the ecological conditions of the Dendrological park “Oleksandriya”

Within the territory of the Dendrological park Oleksandriya subsurface contamination with petroleum prod- ucts, the source of which is a former aircraft repair plant, has existed for a long time. The circumstances of the formation of ecological and hydrogeological situation on the territory of the dendrological park under the influence of petroleum con- tamination from the technogenic loaded area are considered in order to create the system of control of potentially negative impact on the environment and planning of remediation actions. The creation of the eco-industrial park Bila Tserkva will minimize the man-made impact on the state of the underground hydrosphere of the dendrological park.

Petroleum-contamination drives the shift of microbiome through modifying soil metallome

Soil oil-pollution is one of the most severe environmental issues at present. Shifts of soil metallome and microbiome are essential indicators for risk assessment and remediation of field soil pollutions, but not well studied undergoing the petroleum contamination. In this research, soil samples were collected from a short-term and long-term petroleum-contaminated oil field. The soil physicochemical properties, metallome, microbial community, and polluted and unpolluted soil network were testified. Results showed that the contents of soil total petroleum hydrocarbon, total carbon, total nitrogen, total sulfur, total phosphorus, calcium, copper, manganese, lead, and zinc were increased by petroleum contamination. In contrast, the soil pH was decreased by petroleum contamination regardless of the pollution duration. Petroleum-contamination also reduced bacterial and fungal α-diversity indices. In contrast, bacterial α-diversity was negatively correlated with soil TPH and EC, and fungal α-diversity was negatively correlated with soil EC. Moreover, the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, Oleibacter, and Fusarium in soil were increased by petroleum contamination. Network analysis showed that number of links, modules and the network invulnerability decreased in PS, followed by the OS group. These results demonstrate that short-term heavy petroleum contamination can cause shifts in soil physicochemical properties, metallome, and microbiome and assemble a less complex and vulnerable soil microbial network. Moreover, natural restoration can hardly amend soil properties and microbial network structure. This research emphasizes that the uncommonly studied soil metallome may play a vital part in the reaction of soil microbial communities to petroleum-contamination and potential application value of synthetic community in bioremediation.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments from Typical Algae, Macrophyte Lake Bay and Adjoining River of Taihu Lake, China: Distribution, Sources, and Risk Assessment

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants in sediments and pose a serious risk for freshwater ecosystems. In this study, sediment samples from 24 sites were collected from the cyanobacterial bloom-occurring, macrophyte-growing lake bay and adjoining river of Taihu Lake. Here, the concentration levels, sources, and risk assessment of 16 priority PAHs in the surface sediments from typical algae, macrophyte lake bay and adjoining river of Taihu Lake, were investigated, and the results were compared with those of previous studies. The total PAH (ΣPAH) concentrations ranged from 4900 to 16,800 ng·g−1 in sediments of the Taihu Lake bay and from 5736.2 to 69,362.8 ng·g−1 in sediments of the adjoining river. The level of PAHs in riverine sediments was significantly higher than those of the Taihu Lake bay, and that of the Dongshan River was significantly higher than that of the Mashan River, while there was no significant difference in the concentrations of PAHs between the cyanobacterial bloom-occurring and macrophyte-growing lake zone. The results indicated petroleum contamination was dominated in the cyanobacterial bloom-occurring, macrophyte-growing lake bay, while PAHs of the riverine sediments derived from petroleum contamination and the combined combustion including wood, coal combustion, and petroleum combustion according to the identification by the molecular diagnostic ratio and principal component analysis (PCA). Sediment risk assessment based on sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) suggested that partial regions of the Taihu Lake bay were subjected to the potential ecological risk of the 3-ring and 5-ring PAHs, and there existed negative effects related to naphthalene pollutant in all survey regions. The adjoining riverine sediments showed a high ecological risk.