SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, School of Environment, South China Normal University, University Town, Guangzhou 510006, China.
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
J Hazard Mater. 2024 Feb 5;463:132809. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132809. Epub 2023 Oct 22.
Lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) tailings pose a significant environmental threat from heavy metals (HMs) contamination. Revegetation is considered as a green path for HM remediation. However, the interplay between HM transport processes and soil microbial community in Pb-Zn tailings (especially those in production) remain unclear. This study investigated the spatial distribution of HMs as well as the crucial roles of the soil microbial community (i.e., structure, richness, and diversity) during a three-year revegetation of production Pb-Zn tailings in northern Guangdong province, China. Prolonged tailings stockpiling exacerbated Pb contamination, elevating concentrations (from 10.11 to 11.53 g/kg) in long-term weathering. However, revegetation effectively alleviated Pb, reducing its concentrations of 9.81 g/kg. Through 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, the dominant genera shifted from Weissella (44%) to Thiobacillus (17%) and then to Pseudomonas (comprising 44% of the sequences) during the revegetation process. The structural equation model suggested that Pseudomonas, with its potential to transform bioavailable Pb into a more stable form, emerged as a potential Pb remediator. This study provides essential evidence of HMs contamination and microbial community dynamics during Pb-Zn tailings revegetation, contributing to the development of sustainable microbial technologies for tailings management.
铅锌（Pb-Zn）尾矿中的重金属（HM）污染对环境构成了重大威胁。植被恢复被认为是一种修复 HM 的绿色途径。然而，HM 运移过程与 Pb-Zn 尾矿（尤其是生产中的尾矿）土壤微生物群落之间的相互作用仍不清楚。本研究调查了中国广东省北部生产 Pb-Zn 尾矿经过三年植被恢复过程中 HM 的空间分布以及土壤微生物群落（即结构、丰富度和多样性）的关键作用。长期的尾矿堆积加剧了 Pb 的污染，使长期风化的 Pb 浓度升高（从 10.11 增加到 11.53 g/kg）。然而，植被恢复有效地缓解了 Pb 的污染，将其浓度降低到 9.81 g/kg。通过 16S rRNA 基因扩增子测序，在植被恢复过程中，优势属从魏斯氏菌（44%）转变为硫杆菌（17%），然后是假单胞菌（占序列的 44%）。结构方程模型表明，假单胞菌具有将生物可利用的 Pb 转化为更稳定形式的潜力，可能成为一种潜在的 Pb 修复剂。本研究为 Pb-Zn 尾矿植被恢复过程中 HM 污染和微生物群落动态提供了重要证据，为尾矿管理中可持续微生物技术的发展做出了贡献。
