Abstract
Background: This work has explored the possibility of applying mining waste-based ameliorants for the remediation of soil that has been transformed by copper-nickel smelter emissions by means of forming artificial phytocenosis. Objective: The aim of our work was to propose, develop and approbate a technique for the preservation of dumps polluted by heavy metals and prevention of their erosion by creating dense grass covers with the use of wastes from mining and processing enterprises to form a supporting substrate for herbaceous plants. Methods: The vegetative cover was cultivated on a supporting medium, consisting of mining waste, with a hydroponic vermiculite substrate and a mix of graminaceous plant seeds, indigenous to the study area and resistant to heavy metal pollution. The mining wastes, used in the experiment, contained acid-neutralizing minerals such as calcium and magnesium carbonate and hydrous magnesium silicate. Results: It is shown that, due to a large pool of Ca and Mg, these mineral substrates are alkaline (pH 8.4 – 9.2) and can perform successfully in optimizing of edaphic conditions for the plant communities grown on industrial barrens. In a pilot experiment without a proposed supporting medium, the plants did not form a stable grass cover and had died out by the beginning of the third growing season, whereas the experimental plots with a proposed supporting medium (waste-based substrate) developed a high-quality grass cover by the end of second vegetation seasons. Conclusion: The resulting plant communities grown on a proposed supportive medium is find to be resistant to aerotechnogenic pollutants and capable of independent survival, representing the initial stage of progressive succession in the presence of on-going pollution.
Highlights
It is well-known that the industrial mining and processing of natural resources damages the biogeosystems adjacent to industrial sites (Crawford 1995, Remon et al 2005)
The study was conducted during the period from 2010 to 2014 on the impact zone of a copper-nickel smelter (Kolskaya Mining and Metallurgical Company JCS, Monchegorsk industrial site) in the Murmansk region, Russia, which is situated at the territory of the Kola peninsula
The Carbonatite Wastes (CW) sample was taken from the dressing tailings dump of Kovdorsky mining and processing works JSC (Murmansk region, Russia), where the wastes are stored after reextraction of valuable components
Summary
It is well-known that the industrial mining and processing of natural resources damages the biogeosystems adjacent to industrial sites (Crawford 1995, Remon et al 2005). Being present in the soil in a labile form and migrating and/or transforming into phytoavailable forms, these toxicants become a source of prolonged environmental pollution, creating extreme conditions for the biota survival phytoavailable (Zhou et al 2007). This situation leads to technogenic wasteland formation – area with dead vegetation and eroded soils with significantly elevated concentration of heavy metals. In the Sudbury mining and smelting region in Canada, large areas have been contaminated with heavy metals around the industrial plants, where the plant impact zones have turned into industrial barrens (Adamo et al 1996). This work has explored the possibility of applying mining waste-based ameliorants for the remediation of soil that has been transformed by copper-nickel smelter emissions by means of forming artificial phytocenosis
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