Assessment of Ecological Recovery Potential of Various Plants in Soil Contaminated by Multiple Metal(loid)s at Various Sites near XiKuangShan Mine

Yanming Zhu, Jigang Yang, Jiajia Zhang, Yiran Tong, Hailan Su (), Christopher Rensing, Renwei Feng and Shunan Zheng ()
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Yanming Zhu: Institute of Crop Sciences, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Fujian Germplasm Resources Center), Fuzhou 350003, China
Jigang Yang: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610055, China
Jiajia Zhang: Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Yiran Tong: Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Hailan Su: Institute of Crop Sciences, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Fujian Germplasm Resources Center), Fuzhou 350003, China
Christopher Rensing: Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Renwei Feng: Institute of Environmental Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture & Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Shunan Zheng: Rural Energy and Environment Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100125, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Soil metal(loid) pollution is a threat to ecological and environmental safety. The vegetation recovery in mining areas is of great significance for protecting soil resources. In this study, (1) we first gathered four types of soils to analyse their contamination degree, including tailings mud (TM), wasteland soil (TS) very near TM, as well as non-rhizosphere soils of pepper (PF) and maize (MF) in a farmland downstream from the TM (about 5 km). Geo-accumulation and potential ecological risk indices indicated that the soil samples were mainly polluted by antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and copper (Cu) to different degrees. Leachates of TM resulted in increased Sb, As, and Cd accumulation in TS. (2) Then, we sampled six local plants growing in the TS to assess the possibilities of using these plants as recovery vegetation in TS, of which Persicaria maackiana (Regel) Nakai ex T. Mori absorbed relatively high Sb concentrations in the leaves and roots. (3) After that, we collected rhizosphere soil and tissue samples from eight crops on the above farmland to assess their capacities as recovering vegetation of contaminated farmland soil, of which the fruits of maize accumulated the lowest concentrations of most monitored metal(loid)s (except for Pb). Further, we compared the differences in the bacterial community structure of MF, PF, TM, and TS to assess capacities of cultivating pepper and maize to improve soil microbial community structure. The MF displayed the best characteristics regarding the following attributes: (1) the highest concentrations of OMs and total P; (2) the highest OTU numbers and diversity of bacteria; and (3) the lowest abundance of bacteria with potentially pathogenic and stress-tolerant phenotypes.

Keywords: soil ecological recovery; soil microorganism; multiple-metal(loid) contamination; mining area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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