Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2012 Dec;86:250-60. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2012.09.027. Epub 2012 Oct 23.
South Africa is rich in mineral resources and is one of the leading raw material exporters in the world. Mining is essential for economic development, but also has detrimental environmental consequences in the form of chemical waste products which are being dumped as tailings material. The aim of this study was to establish whether mesofauna could be utilized to assess the influence of the tailings disposal facility on the surrounding soil environment. The sampled soil was chemically analyzed and the extracted mesofauna identified. High metal concentrations on the tailings dam (Cu, Cr and Ni), apparently had the greatest influence on the soil mesofauna. Only a few mite species were abundant at the two sites on the tailings dam, representing the prostigmatic-, cryptostigmatic- and the mesostigmatic-taxa. Metal pollution is evident in the sites on the tailings dam facility and the number of species generally increased towards the more natural environment.
南非矿产资源丰富，是世界领先的原材料出口国之一。矿业对经济发展至关重要，但也会产生有害的环境后果，以尾矿材料形式倾倒化学废物就是其中之一。本研究旨在确定是否可以利用土壤中型动物来评估尾矿处理设施对周围土壤环境的影响。对采集的土壤进行了化学分析，并对提取的中型动物进行了鉴定。尾矿坝上的高金属浓度（铜、铬和镍）显然对土壤中型动物的影响最大。只有少数几种螨类在尾矿坝的两个地点大量存在，代表前气门、隐气门和中气门类群。尾矿坝设施中的地点存在金属污染，而且物种数量通常会朝着更自然的环境方向增加。
