Abstract
Remediation of gold tailings is often difficult due to their extremely barren nature and highly heavy metal concentrations. Returning green manure and applying sewage sludge compost have the beneficial effects of providing nutrients and improving the soil environment. The effects of green manure plants, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), ryegrass (Lolium perenne Linn.), and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), returning in situ on nutrients, bioavailability of trace metals, and community structure of microorganism in gold tailings amended with 0%, 5%, and 10% (weight/weight) sewage sludge compost on the top 4 cm of tailings (SSC-5, SSC-10) were investigated in a pot experiment. The results showed that the plant biomass and microbial biomass carbon in tailings significantly increased in the treatments with sewage sludge compost. The available N and available P and the availability of Zn decreased markedly with the returning of alfalfa and ryegrass. Moreover, through high-throughput sequencing, it was found that the returning of alfalfa had positive effects on the bacterial community richness but a negative impact on the fungal community richness. The microbial community diversity was reduced in the treatment without sewage sludge compost amendment and with alfalfa returning. However, the microbial community diversity was enriched in the treatment of alfalfa returning with sewage sludge compost. In each plant species, 9 dominant bacterial phyla and 10 dominant fungi phyla could be detected. Returning alfalfa green manure and applying sewage sludge compost led to a relative increase in the abundance of Proteobacteria and Ascomycota. These results demonstrated that returning alfalfa and applying sewage sludge compost could be effective in the ecological restoration of gold tailings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adriano DC, Wenzel WW, Vangronsveld J, Bolan NS (2004) Role of assisted natural remediation in environmental cleanup. Geoderma 122(2-4):121–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2004.01.003
Baggs EM, Watson CA, Rees RM (2000) The fate of nitrogen from incorporated cover crop and green manure residues. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 56(2):153–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009825606341
Baldantoni D, Bellino A, Alfani A (2016) Soil compost amendment enhances tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) quality. J Sci Food Agric 96(12):4082–4088. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.7608
Banerjee MR, Burton DL, Depoe S (1997) Impact of sewage sludge application on soil biological characteristics. Agric Ecosyst Environ 66(3):241–249. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(97)00129-1
Bao SD (2000) Soil agrochemical analysis (third edition). China Agriculture Press, Bei**g
Bloem J, Hopkins DW, Benedetti A (2005) Microbiological methods for assessing soil quality. CABI
Boyer S, Wratten SD (2010) The potential of earthworms to restore ecosystem services after opencast mining - a review. Basic Appl Ecol 11(3):196–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2009.12.005
Caporaso JG, Kuczynski J, Stombaugh J, Bittinger K, Bushman FD, Costello EK, Fierer N, Peña AG, Goodrich JK, Gordon JI, Huttley GA, Kelley ST, Knights D, Koenig JE, Ley RE, Lozupone CA, McDonald D, Muegge BD, Pirrung M, Reeder J, Sevinsky JR, Turnbaugh PJ, Walters WA, Widmann J, Yatsunenko T, Zaneveld J, Knight R (2010) QIIME allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data. Nat Methods 7(5):335–336. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.f.303
Chen BD, Zhu YG, Duan J, **ao XY, Smith SE (2007) Effects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus glomus mosseae on growth and metal uptake by four plant species in copper mine tailings. Environ Pollut 147(2):374–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2006.04.027
Cheng L, Xue Q (2000) Microbiological experimental technology. Bei**g World Publishing Corporation, **’an
Ciccu R, Ghiani M, Serci A, Fadda S, Peretti R, Zucca A (2003) Heavy metal immobilization in the mining-contaminated soils using various industrial wastes. Miner Eng 16(3):187–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0892-6875(03)00003-7
Conesa HM, Faz A, Arnaldos R (2007) Initial studies for the phytostabilization of a mine tailing from the Cartagena-La Union Mining District (SE Spain). Chemosphere 66(1):38–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.05.041
Davis KER, Sangwan P, Janssen PH (2011) Acidobacteria, Rubrobacteridae and Chloroflexi are abundant among very slow-growing and mini-colony-forming soil bacteria. Environ Microbiol 13(3):798–805. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02384.x
Dindar E, Şağban FO, Başkaya HS (2015) Evaluation-of soil enzyme activities as soil quality indicators in sludge-amended soils. J Environ Biol 36(4):919–926
Ding GC, Bai M, Han H, Li HX, Ding XY, Yang HF, Xu T, Li J (2019) Microbial taxonomic, nitrogen cycling and phosphorus recycling community composition during long-term organic greenhouse farming. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 95. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiz042
Edgar RC (2010) Search and clustering orders of magnitude faster than BLAST. Bioinformatics 26(19):2460–2461. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btq461
Eo J, Park KC (2016) Long-term effects of imbalanced fertilization on the composition and diversity of soil bacterial community. Agric Ecosyst Environ 231:176–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.039
Fellet G, Marchiol L, Delle Vedove G, Peressotti A (2011) Application of biochar on mine tailings: effects and perspectives for land reclamation. Chemosphere 83(9):1262–1267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.03.053
Fierer N, Bradford MA, Jackson RB (2007) Toward an ecological classification of soil bacteria. Ecology 88(6):1354–1364. https://doi.org/10.1890/05-1839
Fierer N, Strickland MS, Liptzin D, Bradford MA, Cleveland CC (2009) Global patterns in belowground communities. Ecol Lett 12(11):1238–1249. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01360.x
Foucault Y, Leveque T, **ong T, Schreck E, Austruy A, Shahid M, Dumat C (2013) Green manure plants for remediation of soils polluted by metals and metalloids: ecotoxicity and human bioavailability assessment. Chemosphere 93(7):1430–1435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.07.040
Garcia-Franco N, Albaladejo J, Almagro M, Martinez-Mena M (2015) Beneficial effects of reduced tillage and green manure on soil aggregation and stabilization of organic carbon in a Mediterranean agroecosystem. Soil Tillage Res 153:66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2015.05.010
Gil-Loaiza J, White SA, Root RA, Solis-Dominguez FA, Hammond CM, Chorover J, Maier RM (2016) Phytostabilization of mine tailings using compost-assisted direct planting: translating greenhouse results to the field. Sci Total Environ 565:451–461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.168
Głąb T, Żabiński A, Sadowska U, Gondek K, Kopeć M, Mierzwa-Hersztek M, Tabor S (2018) Effects of co-composted maize, sewage sludge, and biochar mixtures on hydrological and physical qualities of sandy soil. Geoderma 315:27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.11.034
Guo KH, Ai YJ, Chang XN, **e WQ, Lu S, Yu HR, Ll FP, Gu HH (2018) Screening of pioneer plants for gold tailings amended with composted sewage sludge. J Ecol Rural Environ 34(02):184–192 (in Chinese)
Hartmann M, Frey B, Mayer J, Mader P, Widmer F (2015) Distinct soil microbial diversity under long-term organic and conventional farming. ISME J 9(5):1177–1194. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2014.210
Huhe CX, Hou F, Wu Y, Cheng Y (2017) Bacterial and fungal community structures in loess plateau grasslands with different grazing intensities. Front Microbiol 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00606
Janssen PH (2006) Identifying the dominant soil bacterial taxa in libraries of 16s rRNA and 16s rRNA genes. Appl Environ Microbiol 72(3):1719–1728. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.72.3.1719-1728.2006
Jiang XT, Peng X, Deng G-H, Sheng H-F, Wang Y, Zhou H-W, Tam NF-Y (2013) Illumina sequencing of 16s rRNA tag revealed spatial variations of bacterial communities in a mangrove wetland. Microb Ecol 66(1):96–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-013-0238-8
Jurburg SD, Salles JF (2015) Functional redundancy and ecosystem function — the soil microbiota as a case study. https://doi.org/10.5772/58981
Li Y (2018) Study on the technology and application of preparation of ceramic raw materials by separation of gold tailings. Dissertation, Shandong University of Technology
Li X, Huang L (2014) Toward a new paradigm for tailings phytostabilization—nature of the substrates, amendment options, and anthropogenic pedogenesis. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 45(8):813–839. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2014.921977
Li Y, Zhao S, Wang Y (2012) Microbial desulfurization of ground tire rubber by Sphingomonas sp.: a novel technology for crumb rubber composites. J Polym Environ 20(2):372–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-011-0386-1
Li XF, Huang LB, Bond PL, Lu Y, Vink S (2014) Bacterial diversity in response to direct revegetation in the Pb-Zn-Cu tailings under subtropical and semi-arid conditions. Ecol Eng 68:233–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.03.044
Li XF, Bond PL, Van Nostrand JD, Zhou JZ, Huang LB (2015a) From lithotroph- to organotroph-dominant: directional shift of microbial community in sulphidic tailings during phytostabilization. Sci Rep UK 5:12. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12978
Li XF, You F, Bond PL, Huang LB (2015b) Establishing microbial diversity and functions in weathered and neutral Cu-Pb-Zn tailings with native soil addition. Geoderma 247:108–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.02.010
Liu ZP, Wang BJ, Liu YH, Liu SJ (2005) Novosphingobium taihuense sp. nov., a novel aromatic-compound-degrading bacterium isolated from Taihu Lake, China. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 55(Pt 3):1229. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.63468-0
Ma A, Zhuang X, Wu J, Cui M, Lv D, Liu C, Zhuang G (2013) Ascomycota members dominate fungal communities during straw residue decomposition in arable soil. PLoS One 8(6):e66146. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066146
Madejón E, Mora AD, Felipe E (2006) Soil amendments reduce trace element solubility in a contaminated soil and allow regrowth of natural vegetation. Environ Pollut 139(1):40–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2005.04.034
Malik AA, Chowdhury S, Schlager V, Oliver A, Puissant J, Vazquez PG, Jehmlich N, von Bergen M, Griffiths RI, Gleixner G (2016) Soil fungal: bacterial ratios are linked to altered carbon cycling. Front Microbiol:7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01247
Manici LM, Caputo F, Nicoletti F, Leteo F, Campanelli G (2018) The impact of legume and cereal cover crops on rhizosphere microbial communities of subsequent vegetable crops for contrasting crop decline. Biol Control 120:17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2016.11.003
Meier S, Borie F, Bolan N, Cornejo P (2012) Phytoremediation of metal-polluted soils by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 42(7):741–775. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2010.528518
Mendez MO, Maier RM (2008) Phytostabilization of mine tailings in arid and semiarid environments - an emerging remediation technology. Environ Health Perspect 116(3):278–283. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.10608
Miranda ARL, Mendes LW, Rocha SMB, Van den Brink PJ, Bezerra WM, Melo VMM, Antunes JEL, Araujo ASF (2018) Responses of soil bacterial community after seventh yearly applications of composted tannery sludge. Geoderma 318:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.12.026
Navrátilová D, Tláskalová P, Petr K, Pavel D, Karel F, Milan C, Petr B (2019) Diversity of fungi and bacteria in species-rich grasslands increases with plant diversity in shoots but not in roots and soil. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 95(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiy208
Nies DH (2000) Heavy metal-resistant bacteria as extremophiles: molecular physiology and biotechnological use of Ralstonia sp. CH34. Extremophiles 4(2):77–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s007920050140
Pan Y, Cassman N, de Hollander M, Mendes LW, Korevaar H, Geerts R, van Veen JA, Kuramae EE (2014) Impact of long-term N, P, K, and NPK fertilization on the composition and potential functions of the bacterial community in grassland soil. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 90(1):195–205. https://doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12384
Pérezdemora A, Madejón P, Burgos P, Cabrera F, Lepp NW, Madejón E (2011) Phytostabilization of semiarid soils residually contaminated with trace elements using by-products: sustainability and risks. Environ Pollut 159(10):3018–3027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2011.04.015
Schlatter DC, Kahl K, Carlson B, Huggins DR, Paulitz T (2018) Fungal community composition and diversity vary with soil depth and landscape position in a no-till wheat-based crop** system [J]. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 94(7). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiy098
Shi XM, He F (2012) The environmental pollution perception of residents in coal mining areas: a case study in the Hancheng Mine Area, Shaanxi Province, China. Environ Manag 50(4):505–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9920-8
Shi HX, Jian-Long YU (2012) Quantity of microbes in the different vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Chin J Soil Sci 43(01):47–51 (in Chinese)
Singh BK, Quince C, Macdonald CA, Khachane A, Thomas N, Abu Al-Soud W, Sorensen SJ, He ZL, White D, Sinclair A, Crooks B, Zhou JZ, Campbell CD (2014) Loss of microbial diversity in soils is coincident with reductions in some specialized functions. Environ Microbiol 16(8):2408–2420. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12353
Sonter LJ, Barrett DJ, Soares-Filho BS, Moran CJ (2014) Global demand for steel drives extensive land-use change in Brazil’s iron quadrangle. Glob Environ Chang 26:63–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.03.014
Sreesai S, Peapueng P, Tippayamongkonkun T, Sthiannopkao S (2013) Assessment of a potential agricultural application of Bangkok-digested sewage sludge and finished compost products. Waste Manag Res 31(9):925–936. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X13494261
Tangaromsuk J, Pokethitiyook P, Kruatrachue M, Upatham ES (2002) Cadmium biosorption by Sphingomonas paucimobilis biomass. Bioresour Technol 85(1):103–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-8524(02)00066-4
Tordoff GM, Baker AJM, Willis AJ (2000) Current approaches to the revegetation and reclamation of metalliferous mine wastes. Chemosphere 41(1-2):219–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0045-6535(99)00414-2
Trivedi P, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Jeffries TC, Trivedi C, Anderson IC, Lai K, McNee M, Flower K, Pal Singh B, Minkey D, Singh BK (2017) Soil aggregation and associated microbial communities modify the impact of agricultural management on carbon content. Environ Microbiol 19(8):3070–3086. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13779
Tsadilas CD, Shaheen SM (2013) Utilization of biosolids in production of bioenergy crops II: impact of application rate on bioavailability and uptake of trace elements by canola. Commun Soil Sci Plan 44(1-4):259–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2013.741773
Valarini PJ, Curaqueo G, Seguel A, Manzano K, Rubio R, Cornejo P, Borie F (2009) Effect of compost application on some properties of a volcanic soil from central south Chile. Chil J Agric Res 69(3):416–425. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-58392009000300015
Wakelin SA, Chu GX, Lardner R, Liang YC, McLaughlin M (2010) A single application of Cu to field soil has long-term effects on bacterial community structure, diversity, and soil processes. Pedobiologia 53(2):149–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2009.09.002
Ye ZH, Wong JWC, Wong MH, Baker AJM, Shu WS, Lan CY (2000) Revegetation of Pb/Zn mine tailings, Guangdong Province, China. Restor Ecol 8(1):87–92. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-100x.2000.80012.x
You F, Dalal R, Huang LB (2018) Biochar and biomass organic amendments shaped different dominance of lithoautotrophs and organoheterotrophs in microbial communities colonizing neutral copper(Cu)-molybdenum(Mo)-gold(Au) tailings. Geoderma 309:100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.09.010
Zhang X, Yang HH, Cui ZJ (2018) Evaluation and analysis of soil migration and distribution characteristics of heavy metals in iron tailings. J Clean Prod 172:475–480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.277
Zhou L, Li Z, Liu W, Liu S, Zhang L, Zhong L, Luo X, Liang H (2015) Restoration of rare earth mine areas: organic amendments and phytoremediation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22(21):17151–17160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4875-y
Zhu YP, Pan JR, Qiu JZ, Guan X (2008) Optimization of nutritional requirements for mycelial growth and sporulation of entomogenous fungus Aschersonia aleyrodis webber. Braz J Microbiol 39(4):770–775. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1517-83822008000400032
Zotarelli L, Zatorre NP, Boddey RM, Urquiaga S, Jantalia CP, Franchini JC, Alves BJR (2012) Influence of no-tillage and frequency of a green manure legume in crop rotations for balancing N outputs and preserving soil organic C stocks. Field Crop Res 132:185–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2011.12.013
Zubillaga MS, Lavado RS (2002) Heavy metal content in lettuce plants grown in biosolids compost. Compost Sci Util 10(4):363–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/1065657x.2002.10702099
Funding
This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (No. E2015209300); the Educational Commission of Hebei Province, China (No. BJ2014029); the Scientific and Technological Research Foundation for the Selected Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Hebei, China (No. CL201633); the Science and Technology Planning Project of Tangshan, China (No. 14130235B); the Science and Technology Planning Key Project of Tangshan, China (No. 19150247E); Science and Technology Innovation Team Project of Tangshan, China (No. 19130206C); and the Key Project of Science and Technology Commission Foundation of Hebei Province, China (No. 19224204D).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Robert Duran
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ai, YJ., Li, FP., Gu, HH. et al. Combined effects of green manure returning and addition of sewage sludge compost on plant growth and microorganism communities in gold tailings. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 31686–31698 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09118-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09118-z