Abstract
The chemical properties, ecotoxicity, and microbiome of leachates from phytomanaged Cu-contaminated soils were analyzed. The phytomanagement was carried out using Cu-tolerant poplar Populus trichocarpa × deltoides cv. Beaupré and black bent Agrostis gigantea L., aided by soil amendments, i.e., dolomitic limestone (DL) and compost (OM), alone and in combination (OMDL). Plants plus either DL or OMDL amendments reduced in leachates the electrical conductivity, the Cu concentration, and the concentration of total organic C except for the OMDL treatment, and decreased leachate toxicity towards bacteria. Total N concentration increased in the OM leachates. The aided phytostabilization increased the culturable bacteria numbers and the proportion of Cu-resistant bacteria in the leachates, as compared to the leachate from the untreated soil. Phytomanagement also enriched the microbial communities of the leachates with plant beneficial bacteria. Overall, the Cu stabilization and phytomanagement induced positive changes in the microbial communities of the soil leachates.
Highlights
Soils host highly diverse microbial communities that may reach up to 106 of bacterial species per gram of soil [1,2,3]
The Cu concentrations were highest in the untreated soil (Unt) and OM leachates and lowest in the dolomitic limestone (DL) and OM with DL (OMDL) ones
The highest value of bioluminescence inhibition of A. fischeri determined by the BioTox test was observed for the Unt leachates (28.9%); an inhibition value of 22.5% was observed for the OM leachates, whereas the bioluminescence inhibition was below the toxicity threshold for the DL and OMDL leachates (Table 1)
Summary
Soils host highly diverse microbial communities that may reach up to 106 of bacterial species per gram of soil [1,2,3]. Such extreme microbial richness is due to a large number of microhabitats within the soil structure [4,5] that offers, at the same time, conditions for the proliferation of the dominant microbial phylotypes and suitable protective niches for rare species, both playing a fundamental role in Agronomy 2020, 10, 719; doi:10.3390/agronomy10050719 www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy. The soil solution is the liquid phase in which nutrients diffuse and become available for uptake by plant roots and microorganisms [15], in which the dissolved organic matter (DOM)
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