Changes in the structure of the microbial community under the influence of oil and radioactive pollution

Abstract

Different variants of combined radioactive and oil pollution were simulated in a series of model experiments with soils contaminated with radioactive materials. In the soils with a 137Cs pollution density of 5395.5 kBq, the number of Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, and Rhodococcus representatives decreased, and the number of mycobacteria and fungi increased. The pollution of the soils with diesel fuel with up to 5 mL/100 g soil is accompanied by raising the number of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms; it eliminates to some extent the negative influence of the radionuclides on the soil microbial community approaching the soil to its initial or background state. The high soil pollution with diesel fuel (30 mL/100 g) leads to a decrease in the population of the microbial community and the biological activity. In the growing of plants, the negative effect of the combined radioactive and oil pollution on the biological activity manifests itself less contrastingly.