Experimental assessment of the microbocenosis stability in chemically polluted soils

• Published in: Eurasian soil science Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 650 - 656
• Main Authors: Sorokin, N. D., Grodnitskaya, I. D., Shapchenkova, O. A., Evgrafova, S. Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01.06.2009; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomass; Copper; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Enzymatic activity; Enzymes; Fluorine; Forest soils; Geochemistry; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Growing season; Heavy metals; Larix; Larix sibirica; Microorganisms; Pollutants; Respiration; Soil Biology; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soil sciences; Sulfur; Water pollution; Russia, Siberia; Organic Horizon; EURASIAN Soil Science; Microbial Biomass; Basal Respiration; Test Plot
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229309060106

Water solutions of fluorine and sulfur-containing salts of sodium—NaF, Na 2 SO 3 , and NaF + Na 2 SO 3 (30, 150, and 300 MPC, respectively)—and salts of heavy metals—(Cu(NO 3 ) 2 · 3H 2 O, NiSO 4 , and Pb(NO 3 ) 2 (10, 25, and 50 MPC, respectively)—were applied as pollutants to dark gray forest soils of experimental plots (1 m 2 ) in Siberian larch ( Larix sibirica Ledeb.) plantations once per growing period. The soil samples for the determination of the microbial biomass, respiration, and enzymatic activity (urease, protease, invertase, and catalase) were taken from the mineral soil layer (0–5 cm) at the beginning of the growing seasons before the application of the pollutants then in 14- to 18-day intervals every month. The fluorine and sulfur-containing compounds applied activated the respiration, lowered the enzymatic activity of the microorganisms, and decreased the microbial biomass by 1.3–2.2 times in the soils of the test plots as compared to the control one. The single application of Cu, Ni, and Pb increased the microbial biomass, while the changes in the basal respiration were compatible with its natural variability. Two months after the beginning of the experiment, all the parameters characterizing the functioning of the soil microbocenoses were restored.