Active rehabilitation of Amazonian sand mines converges soils, plant communities and environmental status to their predisturbance levels

Gastauer, Markus; Caldeira, Cecílio Fróis; Ramos, Sílvio Júnio; Silva, Delmo Fonseca; Siqueira, Jose‐Oswaldo

doi:10.1002/ldr.3475

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Success can be measured by comparing different rehabilitation stages with native areas as a reference [15,16]. In the active rehabilitation of Amazonian sand mines [15], each rehabilitation status has specific environmental variables that are expected to reach the native reference condition with the rehabilitation practices and time [15]. We hypothesize that the proteins of soil organisms also converge to the native condition with rehabilitation time and that data present here can integrate a set of variables in upcoming rehabilitation studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…After filling the sand extraction pits, the areas were flattened. For its revegetation, forest topsoil was distributed and planted with seedlings, and native species were sown [15].…”

Section: Study Area and Rehabilitation Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the authors found a variety of proteins related to SOM transformation in forest soil, characterized by high vegetation cover and high SOM content. These gradients of environmental conditions are verified through the rehabilitation stages in mineland rehabilitation [15], and metaproteomics can monitor biochemical processes and soil microorganisms that occur since the beginning of environmental rehabilitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Rehabilitation of a mined area is successful when healthy and self-sustaining ecosystems are able to develop [6]. Success can be measured by comparing different rehabilitation stages with native areas as a reference [15,16]. In the active rehabilitation of Amazonian sand mines [15], each rehabilitation status has specific environmental variables that are expected to reach the native reference condition with the rehabilitation practices and time [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil Metaproteomics as a Tool for Environmental Monitoring of Minelands

Trindade

Gastauer

Ramos

et al. 2021

Forests

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Opencast mining drastically alters the landscape due to complete vegetation suppression and removal of topsoil layers. Precise indicators able to address incremental changes in soil quality are necessary to monitor and evaluate mineland rehabilitation projects. For this purpose, metaproteomics may be a useful tool due to its capacity to shed light on both taxonomic and functional overviews of soil biodiversity, allowing the linkage between proteins found in soil and ecosystem functioning. We investigated bacterial proteins and peptide abundance of three different mineland rehabilitation stages and compared it with a non-rehabilitated site and a native area (evergreen dense forest) in the eastern Amazon. The total amount of identified soil proteins was significantly higher in the rehabilitating and native soils than in the non-rehabilitated site. Regarding soil bacterial composition, the intermediate and advanced sites were shown to be most similar to native soil. Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes phyla are abundant in the early stages of environmental rehabilitation, while Proteobacteria population dominates the later stages. Enzyme abundances and function in the three rehabilitation stages were more similar to those found in the native soil, and the higher accumulation of many hydrolases and oxidoreductases reflects the improvement of soil biological activity in the rehabilitating sites when compared to the non-rehabilitated areas. Moreover, critical ecological processes, such as carbon and nitrogen cycling, seem to return to the soil in short periods after the start of rehabilitation activities (i.e., 4 years). Metaproteomics revealed that the biochemical processes that occur belowground can be followed throughout rehabilitation stages, and the enzymes shown here can be used as targets for environmental monitoring of mineland rehabilitation projects.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…After filling the sand extraction pits, the areas were flattened. For its revegetation, forest topsoil was distributed and planted with seedlings, and native species were sown [15].…”

Section: Study Area and Rehabilitation Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Soil Metaproteomics as a Tool for Environmental Monitoring of Minelands

Trindade

Gastauer

Ramos

et al. 2021

Forests

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“…Environments undergoing intensive landscape transformations and the exposure of large quantities of raw geologic materials (e.g., mining, roads, railways, and dam construction) with poor soil structure and low organic matter and nutrient availability may receive support in the form of technical measures to improve the rehabilitation processes [ 1 , 2 ]. Under such conditions, active rehabilitation measures, i.e., planting and seeding of diverse species mixtures, intend to accelerate the return of key ecosystem functions (soil protection, nutrient cycling, and water supply) [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native Amazonian Canga Grasses Show Distinct Nitrogen Growth Responses in Iron Mining Substrates

Caldeira¹,

Lima²,

Ramos³

et al. 2021

Plants

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Native species may have adaptive traits that are advantageous for overcoming the adverse environmental conditions faced during the early stages of mine land rehabilitation. Here, we examined the nitrogen (N) growth responses of two native perennial grasses (Axonopus longispicus and Paspalum cinerascens) from canga in nutrient-poor iron mining substrates. We carried out vegetative propagation and recovered substantial healthy tillers from field-collected tussocks of both species. These tillers were cultivated in mining substrates at increasing N levels. The tillering rates of both species increased with the N application. Nonetheless, only in P. cinerascens did the N application result in significant biomass increase. Such growth gain was a result of changes in leaf pigment, stomatal morphology, gas exchanges, and nutrients absorption that occurred mainly under the low N additions. Reaching optimum growth at 80 mg N dm−3, these plants showed no differences from those in the field. Our study demonstrates that an input of N as fertilizer can differentially improve the growth of native grasses and that P. cinerascens plants are able to deposit high quantities of carbon and protect soil over the seasons, thus, making them promising candidates for restoring nutrient cycling, accelerating the return of other species and ecosystem services.

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Reintroduction of native plants indicates the return of ecosystem services after iron mining at the Urucum Massif

et al. 2021

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To reduce the net losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services caused by iron ore mining in Brazil, mineland rehabilitation using native plant species is necessary. However, systematic knowledge about which plant species are the best candidates for mineland rehabilitation is lacking. Therefore, iron mining companies working on the Urucum Massif reintroduce as many native herb and shrub species as possible to achieve the rehabilitation of savanna vegetation communities. To this end, seeds are collected from nearby native ecosystems, and seedlings are rescued from logged areas or produced in a local nursery. Monitoring is necessary to assess the persistence of the reinstated communities and their similarity to natural reference conditions. Ideally, monitoring efforts should compare the floristic composition of the rehabilitating sites with that of natural reference ecosystems. Here, we compared sites that had undergone two or three years of rehabilitation after iron ore mining on the Urucum Massif, MS, Brazil, with native reference sites. The species composition as well as structural, taxonomic, and phylogenetic diversity indices were compared between the reference and rehabilitating sites. Despite the differences in species composition between the rehabilitating and reference sites, we found more than 50 native species and partial recovery of the vegetation structure in the rehabilitating sites. Furthermore, we detected similar levels of animal-dispersed plant species at rehabilitating and reference sites. These environmental indicators indicate that trial-and-error approaches are indeed able to establish considerable native species diversity during mineland rehabilitation. Furthermore, the partial recovery of the vegetation structure suggests the gradual return of soil functions in the long term, and the presence of zoochorous species is expected to attract seed-dispersing animals that enable gene flow as well as the arrival of additional plant species. Nevertheless, the high cover values of alien exotic species, which are negatively correlated with the diversity of the reinstated communities, endanger the success of mineland rehabilitation in the Urucum Massif, and effective control methods for invasive populations are required. These efforts should be accompanied by enrichment plantings to maintain the diversity of native plant communities at the rehabilitation sites and ongoing environmental monitoring.

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Active rehabilitation of Amazonian sand mines converges soils, plant communities and environmental status to their predisturbance levels

Cited by 18 publications

References 73 publications

Soil Metaproteomics as a Tool for Environmental Monitoring of Minelands

Soil Metaproteomics as a Tool for Environmental Monitoring of Minelands

Native Amazonian Canga Grasses Show Distinct Nitrogen Growth Responses in Iron Mining Substrates

Reintroduction of native plants indicates the return of ecosystem services after iron mining at the Urucum Massif

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