Response of Soil Microbes to Vegetation Restoration in Coal Mining Subsidence Areas at Huaibei Coal Mine, China

Abstract

Vegetation restoration is an available way to ameliorate degraded lands. In order to study the response of soil microbes to vegetation restoration in coal mining subsidence areas, the composition and distribution of soil microbes were discussed through three plots: unsubsided area (CA), new subsided area (NSA), and old subsided area (OSA) with different vegetation restoration time in Huabei coal mine. Meanwhile, changes in soil catalase and urease activity were explored and the correlation between soil bacteria, fungi, and environmental factors was analysed. The results demonstrated that Nitrospira was the dominant bacteria in all areas sampled. Microorganisms in the 0–20 cm and 40–60 cm soil layers of OSA had the highest Simpson index, whereas the index in NSA was lowest (at all soil depths). The catalase activity in NSA was significantly higher than that in CA, and there was no significant difference in catalase activity with soil depth, while the urease activity declined gradually with increasing soil depth. The urease activity in the 20–60 cm soil layer of NSA and OSA was significantly higher than that of CA. Furthermore, the distribution of bacteria was mainly affected by soil organic matter, available potassium, available phosphorus, and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, whereas pH and catalase activity mainly affected fungal distribution. These results implied that soil catalase activity in NSA and urease activity in the 20–40 cm soil layer of NSA and OSA were significantly enhanced after vegetation restoration, and that long-term plant restoration could improve soil fertility and soil microbial community diversity in coal mining areas.

Molecular Ecological Network Complexity Drives Stand Resilience of Soil Bacteria to Mining Disturbances among Typical Damaged Ecosystems in China

“…Tobin-Janzen et al [46] reported that Nitrospira was the dominant genus of bacteria in soil samples from an underground coal-mining fire (Pennsylvania, USA). Sun et al [47] have found a similar conclusion, that is, Nitrospira accounted for the highest proportion in the soil samples from China. However, what these past studies found was different from the results from our study.…”

“…Once the soil was disturbed by mining activities, the solubility of calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate in the soil might have been affected, and then the water-soluble salt content in the soil-leaching solution changed, which influenced the microbial communities. Sun et al [47] have found that the distribution of bacteria was primarily affected by SOM, AK, and AP in similar coal-mining areas. The location map in Figure 1 shows that PB and ZC are close to each other, and belong to the semihumid area.…”

Molecular ecological network complexity drives stand resilience of soil bacteria to mining disturbances among typical damaged ecosystems in China

“…Sun et al [42] reached a similar conclusion that Nitrospira accounted for the highest proportion in the soil samples from China. However, what these past studies found was different from the results from our study.…”

“…Once the soil was disturbed by mining activities, the solubility of calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate in the soil might have been affected, and then the water-soluble salt content in the soil-leaching solution changed, which influenced the microbial communities. Sun et al [42] have found that the distribution of bacteria was affected primarily by SOM, AK, and AP in similar coal-mining areas. The location map in Fig.…”

Assessing the Performance of Green Mines via a Hesitant Fuzzy ORESTE–QUALIFLEX Method

“…As essential raw materials, mineral resources are the foundation for many downstream industries [1,2]. However, there are plenty of environmental issues during the exploitation process, including ecological damage [3], geological disaster [4], and land degradation [5]. These problems seriously constrain the sustainable development of mining enterprises.…”