Abstract
The investigation of the impact of different forms of nitrogen fertilizer (NO3-N and NH4-N) on microbial parameters, enzyme activities and phytotoxicity in a petroleum-contaminated soil was evaluated by an incubation study. The tested enzymes, microbial activity and seed germination index showed different patterns in response to both petroleum and nitrogen fertilizer addition and time of incubation. The results apparently showed that the contamination of soil with petroleum has a negative effect on soil ecosystem. Nitrogen fertilizer could improve inhibition of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil. Nevertheless, nitrogen fertilizer had no significant effect on urease activity in the petroleum-contaminated soil. As compared to NO3-N, the addition of NH4-N to the soil resulted in a greater impact on soil performance as attested by the recovery of the soil germination capability and higher values of the respiration. The application of nitrogen fertilizer may be suggested as a good strategy for restoring soils in regions affected by the same problem.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akubugwo EI, Ogbuji GC, Chinyere CG, Ugbogu EA (2009) Physicochemical properties and enzymes activity studies in a refined oil contaminated soil in Isiukwuato, Abia State, Nigeria. Niger Soc Exp Biol 21(2):79–84
Amadi A, Dickson AA, Maate GO (1992) Remediation of oil polluted soils: effect of the organic and inorganic nutrient supplements on the performance on Maize (Zea mays L.). Water Air Soil Pollut 66:59–76
Andreoni V, Cavalca L, Rao MA, Nocerino G, Bernasconi S, DellA ME, Colombo M, Gianfreda L (2004) Bacterial communities and enzyme activities of PAHs polluted soils. Chemosphere 57:401–412
Aspray T, Gluszek A, Carvalho D (2008) Effect of nitrogen amendment on respiration and respiratory quotient (RQ) in three hydrocarbon contaminated soils of different type. Chemosphere 72:947–951
Baker RJ, Baehr AL, Lahvis MA (2000) Estimation of hydrocarbon biodegradation rates in gasoline-contaminated sediment from measured respiration rates. J Contam Hydrol 41:175–192
Bento FM, Camargo FAO, Okeke BC, Frankenberger WT (2005) Comparative bioremediation of soils contaminated with diesel oil by natural attenuation, biostimulation and bioaugmentation. Bioresour Technol 96:1049–1055
Brohon B, Delolme C, Gourdon R (2001) Complementarity of bioassays and microbial activity measurements for the evaluation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils quality. Soil Biol Biochem 33:883–891
Brook TR, Stiver WH, Zytner RG (2001) Biodegradation of diesel fuel in soil under various nitrogen addition regimes. Soil Sediment Contam 10:539–553
Corstanje R, Schulin R, Lark R (2007) Scale dependent relationships between soil organic matter and urease activity. Eur J Soil Sci 58(5):1087–1095
Dawson JJC, Godsiffe EJ, Thompson IP, Ralebitso-Senior TK, Killham KS, Paton GI (2007) Application of biological indicators to assess recovery of hydrocarbon impacted soils. Soil Biol Biochem 39:164–177
Dick WA, Tabatabai MA (1992) Potential uses of soil enzymes. In: Metting FB, Dekker M (eds) Soil microbial ecology: applications in agricultural and environmental management. New York, pp 95–127
Eibes G, Cajthaml T, Moreira MT, Feijoo G, Lema JM (2006) Enzymatic degradation of anthracene, dibenzothiophene and pyrene by manganese peroxidase in media containing acetone. Chemosphere 64:408–414
El-Tarabily KA (2002) Total microbial activity composition of a mangrove sediment are reduced by oil pollution at a site in the Arabian Gulf. Can J Microbiol 48:176–182
Galas E, Kwapise E, Torbisz-Szymanska L, Krystynowiez A, Antezak J, Orynska A (1997) Characteristics of chosen species of bacterial transformation diesel oil of hydrocarbons. J Biotechnol 36:145–157
Gianfreda L, Sannino F, Ortega N, Nannipieri P (1994) Activity of free and immobilized urease in soil: effects of pesticides. Soil Biol Biochem 26:777–784
Gianfreda L, Rao MA, Piotrowska A, Palumbob G, Colombob C (2005) Soil enzyme activities as affected by anthropogenic alterations: intensive agricultural practices and organic pollution. Sci Total Environ 341:265–279
Hollender J, Althoff K, Mundt M, Dott W (2003) Assessing the microbial activity of soil samples, its nutrient limitation and toxic effects on contaminants using a simple respiration test. Chemosphere 53:269–275
Kim SJ, Choi DH, Sim DS, Oh YS (2005) Evaluation of bioremediation effectiveness on crude oil contaminated sand. Chemosphere 59:845–852
Klose S, Tabatabai MA (1999) Urease activity of microbial biomass in soils. Soil Biol Biochem 31:205–211
Labud V, García C, Hernández T (2007) Effect of hydrocarbon pollution on the microbial properties of a sandy and a clay soil. Chemosphere 66:1863–1871
Lee SH, Lee S, Kim DY, Kim JG (2007) Degradation characteristics of waste lubricants under different nutrient conditions. J Hazard Mater 143:65–72
Makoi J, Ndakidemi P (2008) Selected soil enzymes: examples of their potential roles in the ecosystem. Afr J Biotechnol 7:181–191
Malachowska JA, Mirozoska J, Rozielska M, Miksch K (1997) Enzymatic activity in soil contaminated by petroleum derivatives during the process of its detoxication. J Biotechnol 36:79–91
Margesin R, Zimmerbauer A, Schinner F (2000) Monitoring of bioremediation by soil biological activities. Chemosphere 40:339–346
Margesin R, Labbé D, Schinner FW, Greer C, Whyte LG (2003) Characterization of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial populations in contaminated and pristine Alpine soils. Appl Environ Microbiol 69:3085–3092
Margesin R, Hammerle M, Tscherko D (2007) Microbial activity and community composition during bioremediation of diesel-oil-contaminated soil: effects of hydrocarbon concentration, fertilizers and incubation time. Microb Ecol 53:259–269
Marı´n, JA (2004) Bioremediation by mean of biological techniques of hydrocarbons from oil refinery sludges. experiments under semiarid climate. Ph.D Thesis, University of Murcia
Nannipieri P, Sequi P, Fusi P (1996) Humus and enzyme activity. In: Piccolo A (ed) Humic substances in terrestrial ecosystems. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 293–327
Öhlinger R (1996) Dehydrogenase activity with the substrate TTC. In: Schinner F, Öhlinger R, Kande-ler E, Margesin R (eds) Methods in soil biology. Springer, Berlin, pp 241–243
Page AL, Miller RH, Keenney DR (1982) Methods of soil analysis. Part2. Chemical and microbiological properties. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 831–871
Rao KM, Rao VT, Babu GR (2008) On interaction of a clayey soil with textile dye waste. Electron J Geotech Eng 13:1–18
Riffaldi R, Levi-Minzi R, Cardelli R, Palumbo S, Saviozzi A (2006) Soil biological activities in monitoring the bioremediation of diesel oil-contaminated soil. Water Air Soil Pollut 170:3–15
Sarma PM, Bhattacharya D, Krishnan S, Lal B (2004) Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon by a newly discovered enteric bacterium, Leclercia adecarboxylata. Appl Environ Microbiol 70:3163–3166
Schloter M, Dilly O, Munch JC (2003) Indicators for evaluating soil quality. Agric Ecosyst Environ 98:255–262
Semple KT, Dew NM, Doick KJ, Rhodes AH (2006) Can mineralisation be used to estimate microbial availability of organic contaminants in soil? Environ Pollut 140:164–172
Singh DK, Kumar S (2008) Nitrate reductase, arginine deaminase, urease and dehydrogenase activities in natural soil (ridges with forest) and in cotton soil after acetamiprid treatments. Chemosphere 71:412–418
Swannell RJ, Lee K, Mcdonagh M (1996) Field evaluations of marine oil spill bioremediation. Microbiol Rev 60:342–365
Tabatabai MA (1982) Soil enzymes. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keenney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 903–947
Thiele-Bruhn S, Brümmer GW (2005) Kinetics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degradation in long-term polluted soils during bioremediation. Plant Soil 275:31–42
Topac FO, Dindar E, Ucaroglu S, Baskaya HS (2009) Effect of a sulfonated azo dye and sulfanilic acid on nitrogen transformation processes in soil. J Hazard Mater 170:1006–1013
Ueno A, Ito Y, Yumoto I, Okuyama H (2007) Isolation and characterization of bacteria from soil contaminated with diesel oil and the possible use of these in autochthonous bioaugmentation. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 23:1739–1745
Ujowundu CO, Kalu FN, Nwaoguikpe RN, Kalu OI, Ihejirika CE, Nwosunjoku EC, Okechukwu RI (2011) Biochemical and physical characterization of diesel petroleum contaminated soil in Southeastern Nigeria. Res J Chem Sci 1(8):57–62
Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707
Walworth J, Pond A, Snape I, Rayner J, Ferguson S, Harvey P (2007) Nitrogen requirements for maximizing petroleum bioremediation in a sub-Antarctic soil. Cold Reg Sci Technol 48:84–91
Wang J, Zhan X, Zhou L, Lin Y (2010) Biological indicators capable of assessing thermal treatment efficiency of hydrocarbon mixture-contaminated soil. Chemosphere 80:837–844
White PA, Claxton LD (2004) Mutagens in contaminated soil: a review. Mutat Res 567:227–345
Xinhua Z, Wenzhu W, Lixiang Z, Jianru L, Tinghui J (2010) Interactive effect of dissolved organic matter and phenanthrene on soil enzymatic activities. J Environ Sci 22(4):607–614
Xu JG, Johnson RL (1995) Root growth, microbial activity and phosphatase activity in oil-contaminated, remediated and uncontaminated soils planted to barley and field pea. Plant Soil 173:3–10
Zhang HLY, Zhang CG, Chen GX (2005) Effect of petroleum contaminating waste water irrigation on bacterial diversities area and enzymatic activities in a paddy soil irrigation area. J Environ Qual 34:1073–1080
Zucconi F, Monace A, Forte M, De Bertoldi M (1985) Phytotoxins during the stabilization of organic matter. In: Gasser JKR (ed) Composting of agricultural and other wastes. Elsevier, London, pp 73–86
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the University of Tehran for funding this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Emami, S., Pourbabaei, A.A. & Alikhani, H.A. Interactive effect of nitrogen fertilizer and hydrocarbon pollution on soil biological indicators. Environ Earth Sci 72, 3513–3519 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3259-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3259-9