A study of the structure and metal tolerance of the soil microbial community six years after cessation of sewage sludge applications

Witter, Ernst; Gong, Ping; Bååth, Erland; Marstorp, Håkan

doi:10.1002/etc.5620190805

Cited by 63 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Given that the majority of changes are seen in the culturable portion of the bacterial community it was not surprising that C-FAME and epi£uorescence counts were not sensitive enough to determine the impact of the contaminants. In previous studies, the e¡ect of heavy metals on soil fatty acid pro¢les was not consistent [27,28] and the results here substantiate that observation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Similarity of microbial and meiofaunal community analyses for mapping ecological effects of heavy-metal contamination in soil

Ellis

2002

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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The effect of long-term heavy-metal contamination on soil microbial and meiofaunal communities was assessed with a view to determining whether analysis of these communities could be used for ecological assessment of contaminated sites. Thirty soil cores were taken from an industrial site formerly used for the burning of waste from an explosives factory. The predominant contaminants in the soil were a range of heavy metals, including lead, copper and zinc. The numbers of culturable bacteria (especially those grown on Pseudomonas selective media) and the microbial community response to a suite of 95 carbon sources were suppressed in samples with high heavy-metal contamination. This corresponded to a reduction in the density and evenness of the nematode communities in the samples with high metal concentrations. Conversely the bacterial counts and responses to the 95 carbon sources were greater at sites with higher and more diverse populations of nematodes. However, epifluorescence counts of bacteria and the profiles of extracted fatty acids were not consistently altered by the heavy-metal contamination. These results suggest that culturable bacteria are effective indicators of pollution in soil, and reflect the perturbations seen in other components of the soil biota. Furthermore, this is the first study to show that both meiofaunal communities and microbial communities give similar indications of the ecological impact of heavy-metal contamination in soil. ß

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Similarity of microbial and meiofaunal community analyses for mapping ecological effects of heavy-metal contamination in soil

Ellis

2002

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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“…Adaptation usually results in changes of community composition and the maintenance of soil functionality up to high concentrations of metals in soil Bååth et al 1998;Witter et al 2000). Microbial processes differ in their susceptibility to stresses, with for instance nitrification being more sensitive than soil respiration (Domsch 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional and compositional responses in soil microbial communities along two metal pollution gradients: does the level of historical pollution affect resistance against secondary stress?

et al. 2015

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We examined how the exposure to secondary stressors affected the functional and compositional responses of microbial communities along two metal pollution gradients in Polish forests and whether responses were influenced by the level of metal pollution. Basal respiration rate and community composition, as determined by 16S rRNA gene-based denaturing gradient analysis, were studied in laboratory-incubated microcosms, containing soil samples taken from different locations in the field gradients, and subjected to secondary stress factors (arsenic, salt, benzo[a]pyrene or flooding). Soils adapted to higher metal contamination levels were more resistant to arsenic and salt stress compared to less polluted soils, indicating that functional and compositional responses to these stresses were related to the level of historical pollution in the long-term contaminated forest soils. However, community composition and functioning in soils along the two gradients were resistant to benzo[a]pyrene and flooding stress. Changes in respiration were significantly related to changes in community composition. Knowledge on the functional gene capabilities prior to adding the secondary stressor benefitted understanding the functional responses toward additional stressors. Our study highlights that microbial communities selected for metal resistance in the field might also become more resistant against some secondary stress factors; however, the type of stress and the level of historical pollution play a decisive role in community-level responses toward secondary stressors.

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“…Many authors showed that environmental stress e.g. metals or organic contaminants can provoke such changes in community structure and successively cause development of community tolerance Pennanen et al, 1996;Ba˚a˚th et al, 1998a, b;Kelly et al, 1999;Macnaughton et al, 1999;Gong et al, 2000;Witter et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Stability of Microbial Communities in Contaminated Soils Near a Zinc Smelter (Budel, The Netherlands)

Tobor-Kaplon

Bloem²,

Römkens³

et al. 2006

Ecotoxicology

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Abstract. Environmental pollution causes adverse effects on many levels of ecosystem organization; it might affect the use efficiency of available resources which will make the system more sensitive to subsequent stress. Alternatively the development of community tolerance may make the system more resistant to additional stresses.In this study we investigate the functional stability, measured in the terms of resistance and resilience, of microbial populations inhabiting contaminated soils near a zinc smelter. With functional stability we mean that we look at processes rather than at population dynamics. We measure changes in respiration and bacterial growth rate in response to addition of stress (lead, salt) or disturbance (heat). We used soils that differ in the level of pollution with zinc and cadmium originating from an adjacent smelter.Our results showed, with regard to respiration, that the most polluted soils have the lowest stability to salt (stress) and heat (disturbance). This confirms the hypothesis that more stressed systems have less energy to cope with additional stress or disturbance.However, bacterial growth rates were affected in a different way than respiration. There was no difference between the soils in resistance and resilience to addition of lead. In case of salt treatment, the least polluted soils showed highest stability. In contrast, the least polluted soils were the least stable to increased temperature, which supports the hypothesis that more stressed soils are more stable to additional stress/ disturbance due to properties they gained when exposed to the first stress (pollution by the smelter).Thus, the responses of microbial processes to stress, their nature and size, depend on the kinds of stress factors, especially whether a subsequent stress is similar to the first stress, in terms of the mechanism with which the organisms deal with the stress.

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A study of the structure and metal tolerance of the soil microbial community six years after cessation of sewage sludge applications

Cited by 63 publications

References 31 publications

Similarity of microbial and meiofaunal community analyses for mapping ecological effects of heavy-metal contamination in soil

Similarity of microbial and meiofaunal community analyses for mapping ecological effects of heavy-metal contamination in soil

Functional and compositional responses in soil microbial communities along two metal pollution gradients: does the level of historical pollution affect resistance against secondary stress?

Functional Stability of Microbial Communities in Contaminated Soils Near a Zinc Smelter (Budel, The Netherlands)

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