Cracks Reinforce the Interactions among Soil Bacterial Communities in the Coal Mining Area of Loess Plateau, China

Abstract

Soil microorganisms play a key role in global biogeochemical changes. To understand the interactions among soil bacterial communities and their responses to extreme environments, the soil properties and bacterial community diversity were determined in the post-mining ecosystem of the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed that the soil temperature, pH, organic matter, available phosphorus, and available potassium values were significantly reduced in the post-mining cracks area. However, the richness and uniformity of soil bacterial communities increased by about 50% in the post-mining cracks area. Soil microbial community structure and the network interactions tended to be complex and strengthened in the post-mining cracks area. Moreover, soil nutrient loss caused the differences in soil bacterial community structure compositions in the post-mining cracks area. Furthermore, the relationships between soil physicochemical properties and different modules of the soil bacterial molecular ecological network were changed in a complex manner in the post-mining cracks area. This study provides a theoretical basis for adaptive management and response to cracks in post-mining areas and under other extreme conditions.

Ecological network analysis to assess the restoration success of disturbed mine soil in Zoucheng, China

“…This can be due to having detected those SMCs at a stable stage in their succession at the time sampling was conducted (Novianti et al, 2018;Sun et al, 2019). Anyhow, the array of phyla for the SMCs detected in this study agrees with previous studies focusing on land reclamation (e.g., Chen et al, 2016;Li et al, 2014;Luo et al, 2019), reflecting the eight major bacterial phyla commonly encountered in the soil (Figure 4a, and Figure S2, see supplemental material; Chen et al, 2017). Moreover, the most abundant genera of SMCs found herein (i.e., RB41 and UTCFX1; Figure 4b) were attributed to the high abundance of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi, given the demonstrated affinity between these phyla and the most abundant genera (Ngugi et al, 2018).…”

Ecological network analysis assesses the restoration success of disturbed mining soil in China

“…Anyhow, the array of phyla for the SMCs detected in this study agrees with previous studies focusing on land reclamation (e.g. Li et al, 2014b;Chen et al, 2016;Luo et al, 2019), reflecting the eight major bacterial phyla commonly encountered in the soil (Fig. 3A, Fig.…”

Restoration of damaged ecosystems in desert steppe open‐pit coal mines: Effects on soil nematode communities and functions

“…According to forecasts, the total mineable coal reserves in China amount to 223.6 × 10 9 MT, and the annual mining peak is expected to reach 3.9 × 10 9 MT between 2025 and 2030 (Wang, Feng, & Tverberg, 2013). Coal mining has promoted economic development; however, the high‐intensity mining activity undertaken routinely has increased tussle between economic development and ecological environment protection (Chen et al, 2019; Luo et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2014). In China, open‐pit coal production accounts for 15% of the total coal production, and open‐pit mining areas are typically representative of degraded ecosystems (Chen et al, 2017; Wu et al, 2019).…”

“…however, the high-intensity mining activity undertaken routinely has increased tussle between economic development and ecological environment protection (Chen et al, 2019;Luo et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2014). In China, open-pit coal production accounts for 15% of the total coal production, and open-pit mining areas are typically representative of degraded ecosystems (Chen et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2019).…”