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A field-plot experiment was undertaken to compare the effect of inorganic fertilizer with that of inoculation with an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus intraradices, or with a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium, Pseudomonas mendocina, alone or in combination with inorganic fertilizer, on plant growth and nutrient uptake by lettuce. The influence of the microbial inoculation treatments on soil physical, biochemical and biological properties was also assessed. Two months after planting, fertilizer and inoculation with G. intraradices or P. mendocina had significantly increased shoot and root biomass and foliar nutrient contents (P, Fe). The inoculation with G. intraradices or P. mendocina both increased the soil water-soluble carbohydrates and the percentage of stable aggregates. In this study, we provide the first evidence of the beneficial effect of a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium on soil aggregate stabilization under field conditions. Only inoculation with P. mendocina had a significant effect on the dehydrogenase and phosphatase activities, 21 and 89%, respectively, compared with the control. Inorganic fertilization alone did not increase aggregate stability or enzyme activities in soil, even though this treatment produced the largest increases in mass of lettuce.

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The objective of this study was to compare the microbial community composition and biomass associated with the rhizosphere of a perennial gramineous species (Lygeum spartum L.) with that of an annual (Piptatherum miliaceum L.), both growing in semiarid mine tailings. We also established their relationship with the contents of potentially toxic metals as well as with indicators of soil quality. The total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) amount was significantly higher in the rhizosphere soil of the annual species than in the rhizosphere soil of the perennial species. The fungal/bacterial PLFA ratio was significantly greater in the perennial species compared to the annual species. The fatty acid 16:1ω5c, the fungal/bacterial PLFA ratio and monounsaturated/saturated PLFA ratio were correlated negatively with the soluble contents of toxic metals. The cyc/prec (cy17:0 + cy19:0/16:1ω7 + 18:1ω7) ratio was correlated positively with the soluble contents of Pb, Zn, Al, Ni, Cd, and Cu. The results of the PLFA analysis for profiling microbial communities and their stress status of both the plant species indicate that perennial and annual gramineous species appear equally suitable for use in programmes of revegetation of semiarid mine tailings.

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