Impact of Oil-Spill Contamination on a Soil Bacterial Community: A 40-Year History of Rehabilitation in the Arava Valley

Girsowicz, Ruben; Koryachenko, Oksana; Sherman, Chen; Mayzlish-Gati, Einav; Doniger, Tirza; Steinberger, Yosef

doi:10.1080/15320383.2018.1443427

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Half of the selected trees were, at the time of the spill, within 2 m of the trajectory of the oil flow (hereafter “polluted”), while the other half were at ≥10 m from the oil flow (hereafter “unpolluted”). Evidence of persistent negative effects of the oil on the bacterial and plant communities, even years after these major oil spills occurred, are provided by Girsowicz et al [ 28 ], Nothers et al [ 26 ], and Tran et al [ 29 ]. Differences in physical properties between oil-contaminated and noncontaminated soil are provided by Gordon et al [ 30 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed Predation on Oil-Polluted and Unpolluted Vachellia (Acacia) Trees in a Hyper-Arid Desert Ecosystem

Ferrante

Möller

et al. 2020

Insects

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Acacia trees are keystone species in many arid environments, supporting high levels of plant and animal diversity. In Israel, the populations of Vachellia (formerly Acacia) tortilis (Forssk.) and V. raddiana (Savi) are declining at an alarming rate. Severe infestations by bruchid beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) are among the major causes of seed mortality, but additional environmental stressors can reduce the defence level of the seeds, exacerbating their susceptibility to predators. In a hyper-arid desert ecosystem affected by two major oil spills (in 1975 and 2014), we quantified seed predation rates caused by insect granivores before and after the pods dropped to the ground. We recorded predation rates of up to 84% for both tree species, and higher predation rates at the ground level than in the canopy, suggesting that repeated infestations occur. These results reinforce the call to protect the populations of large ungulates such as gazelles, which kill the bruchids by feeding upon the pods, and promote seed germination and dispersion. We found no clear evidence of a negative effect of the oil spill on seed predation, indicating that oil pollution did not increase the vulnerability of the seeds to granivores even in trees affected by the recent oil spill.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed Predation on Oil-Polluted and Unpolluted Vachellia (Acacia) Trees in a Hyper-Arid Desert Ecosystem

Ferrante

Möller

et al. 2020

Insects

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“…These factors significantly impact the plants' ability to grow. Without a functional microbial community and healthy plant life, the environment is unlikely to support much higher-order lifeforms (Girsowicz et al, 2018;Truskewycz et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Microbiome Structure and Function in Ecopiles Used to Remediate Petroleum-Contaminated Soil

Wang

Garrido‐Sanz

Sansegundo‐Lobato

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The soil microbiome consists of a vast variety of microorganisms which contribute to essential ecosystem services including nutrient recycling, protecting soil structure, and pathogen suppression. Recalcitrant organic compounds present in soils contaminated with fuel oil can lead to a decrease in functional redundancy within soil microbiomes. Ecopiling is a passive bioremediation technique involving biostimulation of indigenous hydrocarbon degraders, bioaugmentation through inoculation with known petroleum-degrading consortia, and phytoremediation. The current study investigates the assemblage of soil microbial communities and pollutant-degrading potential in soil undergoing the Ecopiling process, through the amplicon marker gene and metagenomics analysis of the contaminated soil. The analysis of key community members including bacteria, fungi, and nematodes revealed a surprisingly diverse microbial community composition within the contaminated soil. The soil bacterial community was found to be dominated by Alphaproteobacteria (60–70%) with the most abundant genera such as Lysobacter, Dietzia, Pseudomonas, and Extensimonas. The fungal community consisted mainly of Ascomycota (50–70% relative abundance). Soil sequencing data allowed the identification of key enzymes involved in the biodegradation of hydrocarbons, providing a novel window into the function of individual bacterial groups in the Ecopile. Although the genus Lysobacter was identified as the most abundant bacterial genus (11–46%) in all of the contaminated soil samples, the metagenomic data were unable to confirm a role for this group in petrochemical degradation. Conversely, genera with relatively low abundance such as Dietzia (0.4–9.0%), Pusillimonas (0.7–2.3%), and Bradyrhizobium (0.8–1.8%) did possess genes involved in aliphatic or aromatic compound degradation.

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“…The texture of the soil, the porosity of the soil, and the duration of pollution affect the gasoline phases distribution. Although petroleum hydrocarbons are usually considered insoluble in water, the lighter hydrocarbons, such as benzene, are more soluble in water than polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are often components of diesel fuel (for example, naphthalene, anthracene, or pyrene) (Cole, 1994;Bennett, 1999). Due to the relatively high solubility in water, these compounds will, as a rule, will be dissolved in the aqueous phase or evaporated throughout internal air spaces of the soil.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oil and oil products spill creates a constant threat for agriculture and forestry (Ogri, 2001;Agbogidi, 2003). Soil contamination by oil and oil products destroys the physical (Marin-Garcia et al, 2016;Gordon et al, 2018), chemical (Benka-Coker & Ekundayo, 1995) and biological (Agbogidi et al, 2003(Agbogidi et al, , 2007Onwurah et al, 2007;Samedov et al, 2011;Singh et al, 2012;Golan et al, 2016;Girsowicz et al, 2018) soil properties, reduces fertility, and deteriorates the state of terrestrial ecosystems as a whole (Grechishcheva, Meshcheryakov, 2001;Ogri, 2001;Khalilova, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of South Russia Arid Soils Resistance to Gasoline Contamination Using Biological Indicators

2020

Biogeosystem Technique

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Arid ecosystems occupy a significant part of the world's ecosystems and play important role in the biodiversity and stability of natural ecosystems. At the same time, Soils of arid ecosystems significantly differ in their ecological and genetic properties, and, accordingly, in their resistance to chemical pollution. It has been established that the soil pollution of arid ecosystems by gasoline in Russia leads to decrease the biological activity: Inhibition of enzyme activity (activity of catalase and dehydrogenases), decrease the general number of bacteria in the soil, decrease the galore of bacteria of genus Azotobacter in the soil, phytotoxic properties, cellulolytic ability. In most cases, there is a significant decrease in all the studied parameters. The degree of decrease depends on the concentration of gasoline in the soil. The obtained sequence of arid soils resistance of the south of Russia to gasoline pollution: ordinary chernozem (haplic chernozem loamic) > chestnuts soils (haplic kastanozems chromic)> dark chestnuts soils (haplic kastanozems chromic) ≥ light chestnuts soils (haplic kastanozems chromic) ≥ sandy soils (calcaric arenosols) ≥ brown semidesert soils (haplic calcisols) > solonetzes medow (gleyic solonetz albic) > shor solonchaks (puffic solonchaks aridic).Used in the study indicators of the soil biological state can be recommended for forecasting, assessment and control of chemical contamination of arid soils. Based on the assessment of soil ecological functions violation in oil industry, the quantitative regional standards landmarks were developed of the maximum permissible gasoline concentrations (MPC) in arid soil.

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Impact of Oil-Spill Contamination on a Soil Bacterial Community: A 40-Year History of Rehabilitation in the Arava Valley

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Seed Predation on Oil-Polluted and Unpolluted Vachellia (Acacia) Trees in a Hyper-Arid Desert Ecosystem

Seed Predation on Oil-Polluted and Unpolluted Vachellia (Acacia) Trees in a Hyper-Arid Desert Ecosystem

Soil Microbiome Structure and Function in Ecopiles Used to Remediate Petroleum-Contaminated Soil

Assessment of South Russia Arid Soils Resistance to Gasoline Contamination Using Biological Indicators

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