Abstract
Understanding ecological trajectories after mine site rehabilitation is essential to develop relevant protocols adapted for gold mining sites. This study describes the influence of a range of mine site rehabilitation and revegetation protocols on soil physicochemical parameters and microbial activities related to carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. We sampled soil from six rehabilitated mining sites in French Guiana with different plant cover (herbaceous, Cyperaceous, monoculture of Clitoria racemosa and Acacia mangium and association of C. racemosa and A. mangium). We measured the mineralization potential of organic matter by estimating the mineralization of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus and the microbial catabolic diversity balance. The results showed an improvement in the quality of organic matter on revegetated sites with tree cover. On restored sites with fabaceous species, the microbial biomass is three times higher than non-restored sites, improving the rates of organic matter mineralization and restoring the catabolic diversity to the level of natural Guyanese soils. These results confirm that the establishment of fabaceous species under controlled conditions significantly improves the restoration of microbial communities in mining soils.
Highlights
IntroductionLed to significant soil degradation, and soil microbial diversity and activity tended to decrease [2]
Gold mining has been a key activity in Guyana’s economy for nearly 150 years [1]and led to significant soil degradation, and soil microbial diversity and activity tended to decrease [2]
Our results showed that the combination of A. mangium and C. racemosa allowed for a significant improvement in C, N, and P compared to an Acacia monoculture alone
Summary
Led to significant soil degradation, and soil microbial diversity and activity tended to decrease [2]. This alteration of microbial communities leads to a disruption of biogeochemical cycles, which are at the root of ecosystem functioning [3]. Gold miners are encouraged, but not obliged, to carry out ecological restoration of mining sites by reintroducing plant species [4]. In the ecology of restoration, fabaceous plants are known to be efficient and effective and the literature reports numerous studies on their use in soil remediation and restoration, in Guyanese mining sites [5]. The use of legumes in ecological restoration protocols is mainly motivated by their ability to develop symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizae [6,7].
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