Integrating Amendment and Liquid Fertilizer for Aided-Phytostabilization and Its Impacts on Soil Microbiological Properties in Arsenic-Contaminated Soil

Min-Suk Kim,Hyun-Gi Min,Jeong-Gyu Kim

doi:10.3390/app10113985

Abstract

Indiscriminate overuse of liquid fertilizer and arsenic (As) contaminated soil by abandoned mines is one of the important environmental issues in Korea. This study was carried out to solve these two problems. Amendments (limestone, red mud and acid mine drainage sludge), liquid fertilizer and plant vegetation (Hairy vetch; Vicia villosa Roth) were simultaneously treated. Some soil chemical properties (pH, dissolved organic carbon, inorganic nitrogen content, and bioavailable As), soil respiration and enzyme activity (urease activity and dehydrogenase activity) were determined for chemical and biological assessment. Amendments decreased bioavailable As in soil, and acid mine drainage sludge had the best reduction efficiency in alkali soil. Liquid fertilizer affects not only soil chemical properties but also biological properties. Through multiple regression analysis, the rhizosphere effect through plant cultivation using specific root length index was reflected in the result of soil microbial and enzyme activity. In the reclamation of As-contaminated soil, the synergistic effect of multiple treatments could be confirmed. In particular, biological assessment indicators could be useful when evaluating the complex treatment of various restoration techniques, including the phytoremediation method. Based on these results, a long-term follow-up study on the field scale will be possible.

Highlights

In Korea, regarding the disturbance of the soil environment, two major issues that are still in progress and have many problems to be solved are the trace element contamination by abandoned mines and the exhaustion of surplus liquid fertilizer into soil.Domestic livestock breeding scale is becoming commercialized and large-scale as meat consumption increases, and the amount of livestock manure is increasing
More than 90% of the livestock manure is converted into compost and liquid fertilizer, and they are put into agricultural soil [1]
Livestock liquid fertilizer was collected from public manure resource facility in Gangwon province, Republic of Korea, and the collected sample was stored at −60 ◦ C until used in experiments

Summary

Introduction

In Korea, regarding the disturbance of the soil environment, two major issues that are still in progress and have many problems to be solved are the trace element contamination by abandoned mines and the exhaustion of surplus liquid fertilizer into soil.Domestic livestock breeding scale is becoming commercialized and large-scale as meat consumption increases, and the amount of livestock manure is increasing. In Korea, regarding the disturbance of the soil environment, two major issues that are still in progress and have many problems to be solved are the trace element contamination by abandoned mines and the exhaustion of surplus liquid fertilizer into soil. More than 90% of the livestock manure is converted into compost and liquid fertilizer, and they are put into agricultural soil [1]. Intensive nutrient input generates a large amount of ammonia emission in a short time, which is a very problematic global issue, and Korea is no exception recently [2,3,4]. There is an urgent need for healthy and sustainable consumption of surplus fertilizer, and these issues may be global, not just one country’s

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Conclusion