Abstract
Various inorganic and organic pollutants in industrial soils may adversely affect soil microorganisms and terrestrial ecosystem functioning. The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between the microbial activity, microbial biomass, and functional diversity of soil bacteria and the metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region (Poland). We collected soil samples in pine-dominated forest stands and analyzed them according to a range of soil physicochemical properties, including metal content (cadmium, lead, and zinc) and TPH content. Metal concentrations were normalized to their toxicity to soil microorganisms and integrated in a toxicity index (TI). Soil microbial activity measured as soil respiration rate, microbial biomass measured as substrate-induced respiration rate, and the bacterial catabolic activity (area under the curve, AUC) assessed using Biolog® ECO plates were negatively related to TPH pollution as shown in multiple regressions. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that both TPH and TI affected the community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) of soil bacteria and the pollutants’ effects were much stronger than the effects of other soil properties, including nutrient content.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11270-016-2966-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Soil microorganisms are crucial elements of terrestrial ecosystem functioning through the promotion of nutrient cycling, improvements in soil structure formation and fertility, and contributions to proper plant nutrition, controlling the energy flow to higher trophic levels in the decomposer food web (de Boer et al 2005; Schneider et al 2012; Massenssini et al 2015)
Multiple regressions yielded significant models for the soil respiration rate, soil microbial biomass, and bacterial activity area under the curve (AUC) measured on Biolog® ECO plates (p values ranged from 0.0037 to 0.0261)
We showed that the effect of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) exceeded the metal pollution influence, as the metals did not affect soil microbial respiration, biomass, and bacterial activity
Summary
Soil microorganisms are crucial elements of terrestrial ecosystem functioning through the promotion of nutrient cycling, improvements in soil structure formation and fertility, and contributions to proper plant nutrition, controlling the energy flow to higher trophic levels in the decomposer food web (de Boer et al 2005; Schneider et al 2012; Massenssini et al 2015). Due to their small size, have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio and a large contact area with their surrounding environment (Ledin 2000). Soil microorganisms are strongly susceptible to soil physicochemical properties, including the effects of various soil pollutants. In chronically polluted soils, the microorganisms can adapt to an even high concentrations of metals through various adaptive mechanisms
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