TY - JOUR
T1 - Coupling geochemical, mineralogical and microbiological approaches to assess the health of contaminated soil around the Almalyk mining and smelter complex, Uzbekistan
AU - Shukurov, Nosir
AU - Kodirov, Obidjon
AU - Peitzsch, Mirko
AU - Kersten, Michael
AU - Pen-Mouratov, Stanislav
AU - Steinberger, Yosef
N1 - Funding Information:
These investigations were supported by an INTAS YS Fellowship (Ref. No. 04-83-2623 ) and a George Forster Research Fellowship by the Alexander-von- Humboldt Foundation (Ref. No. 1148710STP ) to the first author. The authors are grateful for the assistance of Nora Groschopf in SEM/EDX analysis, and of Carolin Berg in ICP analysis. Ginetta Barnes provided advices and technical assistance on the microbiological analyses.
PY - 2014/4/1
Y1 - 2014/4/1
N2 - This study describes the impact of airborne pollution resulting from mining and smelting activities on the soils of the Almalyk mining and industrial area (NE Uzbekistan). Samples were collected along a transect downwind of the industrial area. Enriched contents of some metals were found in the upper soil layers near the metallurgical complex (Zn≤3010mgkg-1, Pb≤630mgkg-1, Cd≤30mgkg-1) which suggests that these metals were derived from local stack emissions. The morphology and internal microstructure of metal-bearing spherical particles found in the heavy mineral fraction suggest that these particles were probably a result of inefficient flue gas cleaning technique of the smelter. The highest metal concentrations were found also in soil solutions and exchangeable solid fractions from the first three locations, and decreased with increasing distance from the pollution source along transect. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations suggest that the mobile metal pool in the contaminated soil is mainly controlled by dissolution of metal carbonates formed as weathering product of the metalliferous particles. The health of the microbiological soil ecosystem was assessed by measurements of basal respiration, nematode abundance, biomass-related C and N content, and microbial metabolic quotient qCO2. Significant correlations were found between the dissolved metal content and the microbiological health parameters, a negative one for Cmic/Corg ratio, and a positive one for qCO2. A negative correlation was found between the amount of nematodes and the metal contents suggesting that the contaminated soil has significant impact on the functioning of the microbiological community. A better understanding of the spatial variations in the whole ecosystem functioning due to airborne impact could be very useful for establishing suitable land use and best management practices for the polluted areas.
AB - This study describes the impact of airborne pollution resulting from mining and smelting activities on the soils of the Almalyk mining and industrial area (NE Uzbekistan). Samples were collected along a transect downwind of the industrial area. Enriched contents of some metals were found in the upper soil layers near the metallurgical complex (Zn≤3010mgkg-1, Pb≤630mgkg-1, Cd≤30mgkg-1) which suggests that these metals were derived from local stack emissions. The morphology and internal microstructure of metal-bearing spherical particles found in the heavy mineral fraction suggest that these particles were probably a result of inefficient flue gas cleaning technique of the smelter. The highest metal concentrations were found also in soil solutions and exchangeable solid fractions from the first three locations, and decreased with increasing distance from the pollution source along transect. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations suggest that the mobile metal pool in the contaminated soil is mainly controlled by dissolution of metal carbonates formed as weathering product of the metalliferous particles. The health of the microbiological soil ecosystem was assessed by measurements of basal respiration, nematode abundance, biomass-related C and N content, and microbial metabolic quotient qCO2. Significant correlations were found between the dissolved metal content and the microbiological health parameters, a negative one for Cmic/Corg ratio, and a positive one for qCO2. A negative correlation was found between the amount of nematodes and the metal contents suggesting that the contaminated soil has significant impact on the functioning of the microbiological community. A better understanding of the spatial variations in the whole ecosystem functioning due to airborne impact could be very useful for establishing suitable land use and best management practices for the polluted areas.
KW - Bioindicator
KW - Metabolic quotient
KW - Metals
KW - Microbial biomass
KW - Nematodes
KW - Smelter impact
KW - Soil pollution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84893354507&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.031
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.031
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C2 - 24486500
AN - SCOPUS:84893354507
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 476-477
SP - 447
EP - 459
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -
