Abstract
The presence and composition of soil microbial communities has been shown to have a large impact on plant–plant interactions and consequently plant diversity and composition. The goal of the present study was to evaluate impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which constitutes an essential link between the soil and the plant’s roots. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using selected microbes to improve Hieracium pilosella and Medicago sativa growth on Zn–Pb-rich site. Results of studies revealed that biomass, the dry mass of shoots and roots, increased significantly when plants were inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The addition of Azospirillum sp. and Nostoc edaphicum without mycorrhiza suppressed plant growth. Single bacterial inoculation alone does not have a positive effect on M. sativa growth, while co-inoculation with AMF improved plant growth. Plant vitality (expressed by the performance index) was improved by the addition of microbes. However, our results indicated that even dry heat sterilization of the substratum created imbalanced relationships between soil-plant and plants and associated microorganisms. The studies indicated that AMF and N2-fixers can improve revegetation of heavy metal-rich industrial sites, if the selection of interacting symbionts is properly conducted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-015-5094-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Environmental problems arising from tailings containing heavy metals are windblown dust dispersal, leaching of contaminants into surface and groundwaters
Plants grown (M. sativa and H. pilosella) in NS Zn–Pb-rich tailing demonstrated stunted growth consistent with S substratum in comparison with plants grown on NS substrate (Fig. 1)
When plants were grown on sterile substrate, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation together with diazotrophs: Azospirillum sp. and N. edaphicum exerted a positive effect on Hieracium growth (Fig. 1a)
Summary
Environmental problems arising from tailings containing heavy metals are windblown dust dispersal, leaching of contaminants into surface and groundwaters. Phytoremediation strategies aims to decrease the environmental impact from the heavy metal laden waste by establishing vegetation cover over the degraded area. Plants and plant-associated microbes are involved in many biogeochemical processes operating in the rhizosphere. Plants themselves alter soil chemistry through changes in pH and redox conditions (Alford et al 2010). They release various secondary metabolites including inorganic and organic compounds that contribute to nutrient acquisition, accelerating metal mobility or immobilization (Bais et al 2006; Toljander et al 2007). Plants are naturally associated with microorganisms whose microbial
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