TY - JOUR
T1 - Enzyme activities and microbial functional diversity in metal(loid) contaminated soils near to a copper smelter
AU - Aponte, Humberto
AU - Mondaca, Pedro
AU - Santander, Christian
AU - Meier, Sebastián
AU - Paolini, Jorge
AU - Butler, Benjamin
AU - Rojas, Claudia
AU - Diez, María Cristina
AU - Cornejo, Pablo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/7/20
Y1 - 2021/7/20
N2 - The monitoring of soil metal(loid) contamination is of global significance due to deleterious effects that metal(loid)s have on living organisms. Soil biological properties such as enzyme activities (EAs) are good indicators of metal(loid) contamination due to their high sensitivity, fast response, and low-cost. Here, the effect of metal(loid) contamination on physicochemical properties and microbial functionality in soils sampled from within 10 km of a Cu smelter is investigated. Soil composite samples were randomly taken within 2, 4, 6, 8 and10 km zones from a mining industry Cu smelter. The EAs of dehydrogenase (DHA), arylsulfatase (ARY), β-glucosidase, urease, and arginine ammonification (AA) were studied as indicators of metal(loid) contamination, which included the ecological dose (ED50) with respect to Cu and As contents. The community level physiological profile (CLPP), functional diversity, and catabolic evenness were evaluated based on the C-substrate utilisation. All EAs decreased in zones with high degrees of metal(loid) contamination, which also had low TOC and clay contents, reflecting long term processes of soil degradation. Positive and strong relationships between EAs and TOC were found. DHA and ARY activities decreased by approximately 85–90% in highly metal(loid) contaminated soils. DHA and AA showed significant ED50 values associated with available Cu (112.8 and 121.6 mg CuDTPA kg−1, respectively) and total As contents (30.8 and 31.8 mg As kg−1, respectively). The CLPP showed different metabolic profiles along the metal(loid) contamination gradients. Long-term stress conditions in soils close to industrial areas resulted in the decreasing of general biological activity, catabolic capacity, and functional diversity.
AB - The monitoring of soil metal(loid) contamination is of global significance due to deleterious effects that metal(loid)s have on living organisms. Soil biological properties such as enzyme activities (EAs) are good indicators of metal(loid) contamination due to their high sensitivity, fast response, and low-cost. Here, the effect of metal(loid) contamination on physicochemical properties and microbial functionality in soils sampled from within 10 km of a Cu smelter is investigated. Soil composite samples were randomly taken within 2, 4, 6, 8 and10 km zones from a mining industry Cu smelter. The EAs of dehydrogenase (DHA), arylsulfatase (ARY), β-glucosidase, urease, and arginine ammonification (AA) were studied as indicators of metal(loid) contamination, which included the ecological dose (ED50) with respect to Cu and As contents. The community level physiological profile (CLPP), functional diversity, and catabolic evenness were evaluated based on the C-substrate utilisation. All EAs decreased in zones with high degrees of metal(loid) contamination, which also had low TOC and clay contents, reflecting long term processes of soil degradation. Positive and strong relationships between EAs and TOC were found. DHA and ARY activities decreased by approximately 85–90% in highly metal(loid) contaminated soils. DHA and AA showed significant ED50 values associated with available Cu (112.8 and 121.6 mg CuDTPA kg−1, respectively) and total As contents (30.8 and 31.8 mg As kg−1, respectively). The CLPP showed different metabolic profiles along the metal(loid) contamination gradients. Long-term stress conditions in soils close to industrial areas resulted in the decreasing of general biological activity, catabolic capacity, and functional diversity.
KW - Biological properties
KW - Ecological dose
KW - Environmental pollution
KW - Heavy metals
KW - MicroResp
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102968442&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146423
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146423
M3 - Article
C2 - 33752014
AN - SCOPUS:85102968442
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 779
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 146423
ER -