Linking potential nitrification rates, nitrogen cycling genes and soil properties after remediating the agricultural soil contaminated with heavy metal and fungicide.
Apart from the contaminant removal, the remediation of agricultural soil should also pay more attention to soil nutrient retention and biogeochemical cycling. This study aimed to evaluate changes of soil properties, potential nitrification rates (PNRs), and functional gene abundances and link their relationships after remediating co-contaminated agricultural soil with Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) planting, alone or together with biochar application. Compared with the control (CK), alfalfa planting, alone or together with biochar application, could significantly increase soil organic matter (SOM) contents and discrepantly affect soil pH values. The PNRs of the amended treatments were significantly higher than that of the CK. Moreover, alfalfa plantings also enhanced the abundances of functional genes related to soil nitrification and denitrification, with the sole exception of nosZ gene. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that the PNRs were best described by the gene abundance ratios of AOB amoA/nifH and nirS gene abundances. Compared with the CK, alfalfa planting, alone or with biochar application, could restore nitrogen cycling in the co-contaminated agricultural soil and enhance the PNRs via decreasing contaminant bio-availabilities and increasing SOM contents and gene abundance ratios of AOB amoA/nifH.
['Zhang|Manyun|M|', 'Bai|Shahla Hosseini|SH|', 'Tang|Li|L|', 'Zhang|Yaling|Y|', 'Teng|Ying|Y|', 'Xu|Zhihong|Z|']
D000383:Agriculture D001419:Bacteria D002606:Charcoal D058440:Denitrification D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation D005659:Fungicides, Industrial D064351:Genes, Microbial D019216:Metals, Heavy D058465:Nitrification D009584:Nitrogen D058458:Nitrogen Cycle D012987:Soil D012988:Soil Microbiology
Potential nitrification rate Functional gene abundance Medicago sativa L. Biochar Soil co-contamination