Cañedo-Argüelles Miguel, Brucet Sandra, Carrasco Sergi, Flor-Arnau Núria, Ordeix Marc, Ponsá Sergio, Coring Eckhard
Aquatic Ecology Group, BETA Tecnio Centre, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain; Grup de Recerca Freshwater Ecology and Management (FEM), Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Aquatic Ecology Group, BETA Tecnio Centre, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Catalonia, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, ICREA, Barcelona 08010, Spain.
Environ Pollut. 2017 May;224:759-770. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.12.072. Epub 2017 Jan 2.
In spite of being a widespread activity causing the salinization of rivers worldwide, the impact of potash mining on river ecosystems is poorly understood. Here we used a mesocosm approach to test the effects of a salt effluent coming from a potash mine on algal and aquatic invertebrate communities at different concentrations and release modes (i.e. press versus pulse releases). Algal biomass was higher in salt treatments than in control (i.e. river water), with an increase in salt-tolerant diatom species. Salt addition had an effect on invertebrate community composition that was mainly related with changes in the abundance of certain taxa. Short (i.e. 48 h long) salt pulses had no significant effect on the algal and invertebrate communities. The biotic indices showed a weak response to treatment, with only the treatment with the highest salt concentration causing a consistent (i.e. according to all indices) reduction in the ecological quality of the streams and only by the end of the study. Overall, the treatment's effects were time-dependent, being more clear by the end of the study. Our results suggest that potash mining has the potential to significantly alter biological communities of surrounding rivers and streams, and that specific biotic indices to detect salt pollution should be developed.
尽管钾肥开采是一种在全球范围内导致河流盐碱化的普遍活动，但人们对其对河流生态系统的影响却知之甚少。在此，我们采用中宇宙方法，测试了来自钾盐矿的含盐废水在不同浓度和排放模式（即持续排放与脉冲排放）下对藻类和水生无脊椎动物群落的影响。盐处理组中的藻类生物量高于对照组（即河水），耐盐硅藻物种有所增加。添加盐分对无脊椎动物群落组成产生了影响，这主要与某些分类群丰度的变化有关。短时间（即48小时）的盐脉冲对藻类和无脊椎动物群落没有显著影响。生物指数对处理的反应较弱，只有最高盐浓度处理在研究结束时才导致溪流生态质量持续（即根据所有指数）下降。总体而言，处理效果具有时间依赖性，在研究结束时更为明显。我们的结果表明，钾肥开采有可能显著改变周边河流和溪流的生物群落，应开发特定的生物指数来检测盐污染。
