Abstract
Engineering microbial diversity to enhance soil functions may improve the success of direct revegetation in sulphidic mine tailings. Therefore, it is essential to explore how remediation and initial plant establishment can alter microbial communities, and, which edaphic factors control these changes under field conditions. A long-term revegetation trial was established at a Pb-Zn-Cu tailings impoundment in northwest Queensland. The control and amended and/or revegetated treatments were sampled from the 3-year-old trial. In total, 24 samples were examined using pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes and various chemical properties. The results showed that the microbial diversity was positively controlled by soil soluble Si and negatively controlled by soluble S, total Fe and total As, implying that pyrite weathering posed a substantial stress on microbial development in the tailings. All treatments were dominated by typical extremophiles and lithotrophs, typically Truepera, Thiobacillus, Rubrobacter; significant increases in microbial diversity, biomass and frequency of organotrophic genera (typically Nocardioides and Altererythrobacter) were detected in the revegetated and amended treatment. We concluded that appropriate phytostabilization options have the potential to drive the microbial diversity and community structure in the tailings toward those of natural soils, however, inherent environmental stressors may limit such changes.
Highlights
Engineering microbial diversity to enhance soil functions may improve the success of direct revegetation in sulphidic mine tailings
During tailings phytostabilization, which aims to stabilize surface tailings through the establishment of a sustainable plant cover[1], the microbial diversity and community structure are expected to be shifted by remediation measures and plants established
We still know very little about how phytostabilization practice changes tailings microbial community structure and what edaphic factors in tailings control the changes under field conditions
Summary
Engineering microbial diversity to enhance soil functions may improve the success of direct revegetation in sulphidic mine tailings. The extent and direction of microbial structural shift in tailings is an indicator for soil development and an essential factor for plant sustainability even in a short-term. There had been little understanding of the dynamics of microbial communities during long-term field phytostabilization trials in extensively weathered sulphidic tailings in alkaline pH condition. A limited number of studies have implied that the establishment of pioneer plants in Pb-Zn tailings increased microbial biomass and changed the community structure[11,13]. How the microbial community structure in neutral base metal tailings changes with organic matter amendment and pioneer plant colonization, and the edaphic factors that drive these changes, are yet to be explored
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