Abstract
Grass Elymus elongatus has a potential in phytoremediation and was used in this study in a potted experiment, which was performed to determine the effect of polluting soil (Eutric Cambisol) with diesel oil (DO) and unleaded petroleum (P) on the diversity of soil microorganisms, activity of soil enzymes, physicochemical properties of soil, and on the resistance of Elymus elongatus to DO and P, which altogether allowed evaluating soil health. Both petroleum products were administered in doses of 0 and 7 cm3 kg−1 soil d.m. Vegetation of Elymus elongatus spanned for 105 days. Grasses were harvested three times, i.e., on day 45, 75, and 105 of the experiment. The study results demonstrated a stronger toxic effect of DO than of P on the growth and development of Elymus elongatus. Diesel oil caused greater changes in soil microbiome compared to unleaded petroleum. This hypothesis was additionally confirmed by Shannon and Simpson indices computed based on operational taxonomic unit (OTU) abundance, whose values were the lowest in the DO-polluted soil. Soil pollution with DO reduced the counts of all bacterial taxa and stimulated the activity of soil enzymes, whereas soil pollution with P diminished the diversity of bacteria only at the phylum, class, order, and family levels, but significantly suppressed the enzymatic activity. More polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were degraded in the soil polluted with P compared to DO, which may be attributed to the stimulating effect of Elymus elongatus on this process, as it grew better in the soil polluted with P than in that polluted with DO.
Highlights
Petroleum hydrocarbons represent the largest group of organic pollutants [1,2]
More polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were degraded in the soil polluted with P compared to diesel oil (DO), which may be attributed to the stimulating effect of Elymus elongatus on this process, as it grew better in the soil polluted with P than in that polluted with DO
The proliferation of all microorganisms in the soil was significantly stimulated by the BP diesel oil with Active technology (DO), whereas the BP 98 unleaded petroleum with Active technology (P)
Summary
Petroleum hydrocarbons represent the largest group of organic pollutants [1,2]. They are highly resistant to biodegradation, capable of accumulating in plants as well as in human and animal bodies [3,4], and exhibit carcinogenic and neurotoxic properties [3,5].The growing pollution of the natural environment urges the search for effective remediation methods. Petroleum hydrocarbons represent the largest group of organic pollutants [1,2]. They are highly resistant to biodegradation, capable of accumulating in plants as well as in human and animal bodies [3,4], and exhibit carcinogenic and neurotoxic properties [3,5]. The growing pollution of the natural environment urges the search for effective remediation methods. One of these is phytoremediation, which makes use of the natural capabilities of plants for growth and development on polluted areas [5,6,7,8]. According to Haney et al [14], plants provide substrates to microorganisms and, in exchange, rhizospheric microorganisms provide nutrients and phytohormones, increase immunity, and inhibit the growth of phytopathogens
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