Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and addition of composted olive-mill waste enhance plant establishment and soil properties in the regeneration of a heavy metal-polluted environment

A greenhouse experiment was carried out in order to investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi inoculation and the use of composted olive waste (COW) in the establishment of Tetraclinis articulata and soil properties in a heavy metal-polluted soil. The treatments assayed were as follows: AM?+?0 % COW, AM?+?1 % COW, and AM?+?3 % COW. The higher doses of COW in combination with AM fungi increased shoot and root biomass production of T. articulata by 96 and 60 %, respectively. These treatments trended to improve the soil properties evaluated, highlighting the C compounds and N as well as the microbiological activities. In relation to the metal translocation in T. articulata, doses of COW applied decreased the Cr, Ni, and Pb contents in shoot, as well as Cr and As in root, although the most of them reached low levels and far from phytotoxic. The COW amendment aided Glomus mosseae-inoculated T. articulata plants to thrive in contaminated soil, mainly through an improvement in both nutrients uptake, mainly P and soil microbial function. In addition, the combined use of AM fungi plus COW could be a feasible strategy to be incorporated in phytoremediation programs because it promotes soil properties, a better performance of plants for supporting the stress in heavy metal-contaminated soils derived from the mining process, and also can be a good way for olive-mill waste disposal.     

Soil acidity determines the effectiveness of an organic amendment and a native bacterium for increasing soil stabilisation in semiarid mine tailings

Unstable mine tailings are vulnerable to water and air erosion, so it is important to promote their surface stabilisation in order to avoid the spread of heavy metals. In a greenhouse experiment, we assessed the effect of the addition of Aspergillus niger-treated sugar beet waste and inoculation with a native bacterium, Bacillus cereus, on the stabilisation of soil aggregates of two acidic, semiarid mine tailings, with different acidity degree, during watering and drying periods. Organic amendment raised the pH of both the moderately and highly acidic tailings, whereas the bacterial inoculation increased this parameter in the former. Only the amendment addition increased soil water-soluble carbon in both tailings compared with their controls, under either watering or drying conditions. Both the amendment and B. cereus enhanced water-soluble carbohydrates. Both treatments increased dehydrogenase activity and aggregate stability, particularly in the moderately acidic tailing under drying conditions. After soil drying, aggregate stability was increased by the amendment (about 66% higher than the control soil) and by the bacterium (about 45% higher than the control soil) in the moderately acidic tailing. The effectiveness of these treatments as structure-stabilisation methods for degraded, semiarid mine ecosystems appears to be restricted to tailings of moderate acidity.     

Improvement of soil characteristics and growth of Dorycnium pentaphyllum by amendment with agrowastes and inoculation with AM fungi and/or the yeast Yarowia lipolytica

The effectiveness of two microbiologically treated agrowastes [dry olive cake (DOC) and/or sugar beet (SB)] on plant growth, soil enzymatic activities and other soil characteristics was determined in a natural soil from a desertified area. Dorycnium pentaphyllum, a legume plant adapted to stress situations, was the test plant to evaluate the effect of inoculation of native arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and/or Yarowia lipolytica (a dry soil adapted yeast) on amended and non-amended soils. Plant growth and nutrition, symbiotic developments and soil enzymatic activities were limited in non-amended soil where microbial inoculations did not improve plant development. The lack of nodules formation and AM colonization can explain the limited plant growth in this natural soil. The effectiveness and performance of inocula applied was only evident in amended soils. AM colonization and spores number in natural soil were increased by amendments and the inoculation with Y. lipolytica promoted this value. The effect of the inoculations on plant N-acquisition was only important in AM-inoculated plants growing in SB medium. Enzymatic activities as urease and protease activities were particularly increased in DOC amended soil meanwhile dehydrogenase activity was greatest in treatments inoculated with Y. lipolytica in SB added soil. The biological activities in rhizosphere of agrowaste amended soil, used as indices of changes in soil properties and fertility, were affected not only by the nature of amendments but also by the inoculant applied. All these results show that the lignocellulosic agrowastes treated with a selected microorganism and its further interaction with beneficial microbial groups (native AM fungi and/or Y. lipolytica) is a useful tool to modify soil physico-chemical, biological and fertility properties that enhance the plant performance probably by making nutrients more available to plants.