Spatial Shifts in Soil Microbial Activity and Degradation of Pasture Cover Caused by Prolonged Exposure to Cement Dust

Abstract

We ascertained the relationship between the zonal pattern and the pasture vegetation of a volcanic soil polluted with dust from a cement factory after 70 years of operation, with parameters linked to soil microbial activity (soil basal respiration and hydrolases) and physicalchemical properties. Six sampling zones were established at distances of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 km away from the cement plant, considering the latter one as the zone where the pastures were unaffected by the cement dust. Plant cover was negatively affected by cement dust, showing a sharp decline with decreasing distance to the cement factory. The values of pH and extractable K were two units and 2·3-fold higher, respectively, in the sampling zone nearest to the factory, in comparison with those in the unaffected zone. The levels of total Cr, Pb, Ni and Cd were normal and did not vary significantly with distance to the cement factory. Soil respiration and the protease, phosphomonoesterase and β-glucosidase activities declined significantly with decreasing distance to the cement factory. Urease activity was only decreased in the zone nearest to the factory, in comparison with that in the unaffected zone. The soil respiration and hydrolase activities were correlated positively with soil organic matter and plant cover and negatively with soil pH and extractable K concentration. The prolonged exposure to cement dust has resulted in shifts in the soil microbial function, which follows a spatial pattern related to soil alkalization and the decrease in pasture production.

Combined Effect of Microplastics and Cd Alters the Enzymatic Activity of Soil and the Productivity of Strawberry Plants

“…This is related to plant height and stem diameter since greater vegetative growth and larger amounts of stem and root biomass were observed in the control treatment with respect to the other treatments. Soil respiration has been described as a good indicator of total soil microbial activity [54]. However, although lower values were obtained in the Cd and Cd + MPs treatments, there were no significant differences between the treatments.…”

Plant growth and oil contamination alter the diversity and composition of bacterial communities in agricultural soils across China

“…Without strict soil management, degradation of agricultural land is a global problem; it is often irreversible and accompanied by substantial changes in soil biodiversity (Caravaca, Lozano, Rodríguez‐Caballero, & Roldán, ). Microbial biodiversity in agro‐ecosystems and its response to environmental changes are of central and global importance for the practical management of agricultural production (Hartmann et al, ).…”

Temporal dynamics of soil bacterial communities and multifunctionality are more sensitive to introduced plants than to microbial additions in a multicontaminated soil

“…Land degradation is a global problem that is leads to substantial changes in soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services (Caravaca, Lozano, Rodriguez-Caballero, & Roldan, 2017;Delgado-Baquerizo et al, 2016). Revealing the temporal responses of particular bacterial groups to soil perturbations and their contributions to ecosystem multifunctionality is pivotal to understand the maintenance of microbial diversity and microbe-driven ecosystem processes (Delgado-Baquerizo et al, 2017).…”