The importance of autochthonous microbial communities in the sustainability of vegetation for the phytomanagement of semiarid mine tailings

Abstract

Mine tailings are wastes composed by the left-overs of the ore-processing activities, and they are considered as the main responsible for environmental health impacts in former metallic mining areas. The bare areas of the tailings are usually impacted by wind and water erosion, which may spread the metal(loid) enriched particles to their surroundings. Phytomanagement by phytostabilization is considered a suitable alternative to decrease the environmental risks associated to mine tailings. This technique relies on the generation of a stable vegetation cover at the tailings surfaces to decrease the erosion by fixing the soil. However, soil conditions at tailings usually result unfavourable for plant growth (e.g. high metal(loid) concentrations, low fertility, high salinity) and soil conditioners are proposed to overcome this issue. Although there is a general acceptance of the benefits of using amendments for improving plant growth, there is little information on the sustainment of edaphic functionality at long-term scenarios. This issue could be related to the presence of a feasible microbiological community, which tolerates tailings conditions and actively supports biogeochemical processes. The general purpose of this PhD Thesis was to increase knowledge on the relationship between edaphic and microbiological factors involved in the spontaneous plant colonisation of mine tailings. This will improve the feasibility of phytomanagement in terms of phytostabilization applied to these environments in a semiarid climate context. In order to achieve this goal, the PhD thesis has been divided in two parts corresponding to a field survey data and mesocosm experiments carried out at the climate chamber facility at the IBV-UPCT. These research studies were designed to answer four specific goals: The first goal was to elucidate which factors, including edaphic, vegetation and microbiological aspects, determine soil functionality in the phytomagement of mine tailing piles in semiarid areas. For this purpose, a field study was conducted using an experimental transect design, which included a tailing pile and a non-mining impacted zone (as control) located at southeast Spain. The changes in bacterial relative abundances through the transect were better explained by soil fertility related factors (which in turn were related to the presence of plants) than by metals concentrations. The presence of vegetation at the tailings allowed the transition from lithotrophic bacterial orders, which dominated in bare tailings areas, to organotrophic oriented taxa, some of them shared with the non-polluted samples. These results seem to indicate that natural plant mediated successional processes might stimulate biogeochemical cycles similar to those occurring at non-polluted systems. This functionality of the impacted sites, which include unfavourable edaphic conditions, should be taken into account in the phytomanagement of mine tailings, since it may support its long-term sustainability. Unlike bacteria, variations in fungal relative abundances through the transect were not clearly explained by soil parameters or the presence of plants, since they seem to be more determinant by spatial distribution or the type of organic substrates. The second goal was focused on identifying the edaphic factors, including microbiological, which affect the establishment of plant species with contrasting growth patterns during the phytomanagement of a mine tailings pile. For this purpose, a comprehensive rhizosphere characterization was performed in an early ruderal colonizer, Zygophyllum fabago and two late successional tree species, Pinus halepensis and Tetraclinis articulata, growing at a mine tailings pile in southeast Spain. Results revealed that Z. fabago selectively colonized tailings patches characterized by high salinity (3.5 dS m-1 ) and high silt percentages (42 %), showing a specific halotolerant rhizospheric microbial composition. The two tree species grew at moderate salinity areas of the tailings pile (1.7 dS m-1 ) with high sand percentages (85 %) where Actinomycetales was the most abundant bacterial order (>10 % abundance). The contrasting mycorrhizal behaviour of both tree species (ecto-mycorrhizal for P. halepensis and endo-mycorrhizal for T. articulata) could explain the differences found between their fungal rhizospheric composition. In terms of phytomanagement, the selective plant species colonization following specific soil patches at mine tailings would increase their biodiversity and resilience against environmental stressors. The third goal was to assess the effect of the application of two organic amendments, manure compost and biochar, on soil bacterial and fungal composition at metal(loid) enriched mine tailings. The addition of compost caused stronger effects on most of soil parameters and microbial composition than the biochar, especially at the initial stage of the experiment. However, the higher dependence on labile organic carbon for some bacterial groups at the treatments containing compost determined their decay along time (Flavobacteriales and Sphingobacteriales) and the appearance of other taxa more dependent on recalcitrant organic matter (Xanthomonadales and Myxococcales). Biochar favoured bacterial decomposers (Actinomycetales) specialized in high lignin substrates and other recalcitrant carbon compounds. Unlike bacteria, only a few fungal orders increased their relative abundances in the treatments containing compost (Sordariales and Microascales), while the rest showed a decrease or remained unchanged. The mix biocharcompost may result the best option to support a more diverse microbial population in terms of soil functionality that is able to decompose both labile and recalcitrant carbon compounds. This may favour the resilience of the system against environmental stressors. Finally, the fourth goal was to evaluate the effects of the presence of plants or plant litter on the microbial composition in the previously amended tailings (with biochar and/or manure compost). This would allow to determine the feasibility of amendments for the long-term phytomanagement, as well as the ability or inability of the microbial community resulted from the amended tailings to support biogeochemical cycles without additional external inputs of amendments compatible with the rhizospheric microbiome or litter. For this purpose, a pioneer plant species (Piptatherum miliaceum) of the former Cartagena-La Unión Mining District tailings was selected. Piptatherum miliaceum seeds or its litter were incorporated to previously amended tailings substrates. Our experiment showed that the effect of plant and litter on microbial composition was dependent on the previous presence of amendments, especially compost. At those treatments containing compost, the higher growth of plants was able to shape microbial composition (both, bacterial and fungi), while at the non-amended and biochar-only containing treatments (where a scarce growth of plants occurred), litter showed a more important role, especially in shaping bacterial composition. The higher growth of plants favoured some bacterial groups, whose relative abundances were previously depleted in the compost containing treatments (e.g. Actinomycetales) and other groups related to plant rhizospheres (e.g. Rhizobiales). These results revealed the ability of plants for shaping their own rhizospheric microbiome when the amendments contribute to ameliorate the low fertility of mine tailing soils. The employment of the combinations biocharcompost could result optimal to achieve the establishment of a vegetation cover at tailings, providing at the same time an effective tool to stimulate plant growth (higher plant biomass), a recalcitrant source of organic matter (biochar) and a support for the development of a plant rhizospheric microbiome