Microbial Community Structure and Predictive Functional Analysis in Reclaimed Soil with Different Vegetation Types: The Example of the Xiaoyi Mine Waste Dump in Shanxi

Abstract

We explored the characteristics of soil bacterial communities and their ecological functions under different types of vegetation reclamation in open-pit mines on the Loess Plateau, which is the guiding significance for the selection of vegetation and the improvement of restoration effect in mining areas. The research object was to reclaim the soil of the aluminum mine waste dump in Xiaoyi County, Shanxi. The soil characteristics were measured under different types of vegetation reclamation. The soil bacterial community under different vegetation reclamation was measured using the 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology. The ecological function was predicted using the PICRUSt method. The correlation between soil physical and chemical properties and bacterial community structure and function was analyzed. From the results, (1) the bacterial compositions of the reclaimed soil samples were 33 phyla, 90 classes, 121 orders, 207 families, 298 genera, and 140 species. The abundance and diversity of the soil microbial community showed the rule of yellow rose > lespedeza and sweet wormwood herb > alfalfa. (2) Proteobacteria were the dominant bacteria in alfalfa and sweet wormwood herb samples, accounting for 36.09%–43.36%. Proteobacteria and actinobacteria were the dominant bacteria in the yellow rose and lespedeza samples accounted for 53.34%–53.39%. α-Proteobacteria, actinobacteria, and β-proteobacteria were the dominant bacteria of the four vegetation types. The relative abundance of the α-proteobacteria and β-proteobacteria was positively correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC) and negatively correlated with soil total kalium (TK). Actinobacteria were positively correlated with available kalium (AK) and negatively correlated with SOC and total nitrogen (TN). (3) There was no difference in the primary functions of the soil bacterial community after the reclamation of different plants, and the main functions were metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental information processing, with the function abundance accounting for 81.52%. (4) The abundance of functional genes in the metabolism of other amino acids, folding, sorting, and degradation and glycan biosynthesis and metabolism were relatively rich in the rhizosphere soil of yellow rose. The abundance of functional genes in signal molecules and interaction, transport, and catabolism in the rhizosphere soil of lespedeza was the highest. The abundance of functional genes in carbohydrate metabolism, translation, and energy metabolism in the rhizosphere soil of alfalfa was the highest. Therefore, there were significant differences in the structure and function of rhizosphere soil microbial communities among yellow rose, lespedeza, sweet wormwood herb, and alfalfa, and they were also affected by the soil properties. Hence, we concluded that the differences and diversity of soil microbial structure and function can help select plants for the sustainable development of soil remediation in mining areas.

Circular Mining Wastes Management for Sustainable Production of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze

“…Land amelioration is mainly aimed at restoring the ecosystem and the value of the land exposed to mining, which is still a difficult task [17]. The results of the high-performance sequencing (using the PIECRUST method) of microbial communities of aluminum quarry soils have shown the efficiency of using yellow rose, lespedeza, and sweet wormwood herb to improve the soil quality [18]. When compared to this fact, spontaneous succession at an abandoned dolomite limestone quarry in Missouri can lead to the emergence of plant communities, including 74 native species (and 21 non-native species), which is close to the species diversity of natural communities [19].…”

Assessment of Artificial Forest Restoration by Exploring the Microbial Community Structure and Function in a Reclaimed Coal Gob Pile in a Loess Hilly Area of Shanxi, China

“…At present, China produces the highest amount of coal than any other country in the world. However, highly mechanized mining practices invariably result in serious environmental and land problems [1][2][3]. Shanxi Province has an abundance of mineral resources; however, the long-term excessive exploitation of these resources has caused serious damage to the ecosystem of coal mining areas, especially those located to the north of the Shanxi coal mining area, in the semi-arid loess hilly area of China [4].…”

“…Researchers in the field are increasingly using microbial properties as an ecological indicator of the effects of soil recovery efforts in mined areas [34,35]. This is due to the fact that the activity of soil organisms offers useful information when examining the soil's quality following extensive coal mining activities [3,36]. However, it remains unclear in the literature how soil bacterial communities and functions respond to vegetation restoration practices performed on reclaimed coal gob piles in the loess areas of Shanxi, China.…”