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Do metal contamination and plant species affect microbial abundance and bacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of metallophytes growing in mining areas in a semiarid climate?

  • Soils, Sec 5 • Soil and Landscape Ecology • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Mining areas are low-quality habitats for macro- and microorganisms’ development, mainly due to the degradation of the soil quality by metal pollution. The present work aimed to analyze the influence of metal contamination and of plant species on the rhizospheric microbial communities of four indigenous metallophytes (Ononis natrix, Haloxylon scoparium, Peganum harmala, and Aizoon canariense) growing along a metal contamination gradient in Kettara mine near Marrakech, Morocco.

Materials and methods

In pyrrhotite mining areas (Kettara mine, Morocco), rhizosphere soil samples were collected from four predominant indigenous metallophytes (O. natrix, H. scoparium, P. harmala, and A. canariense) growing along a metal contamination gradient (ZC, control zone; Z1, high metal contamination; Z2, moderate metal contamination; Z3, low metal contamination). Microbial communities were analyzed by using microbial counts and by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The physicochemical properties (pH, conductivity, total organic carbon, nitrogen, P Olsen, and metal concentrations) of soils were also determined.

Results and discussion

The physicochemical analysis revealed that rhizospheric soils from Z1, Z2, and Z3 were relatively poor in nutrients as they presented low levels of total organic carbon and nitrogen, organic matter and available P. Moreover, these rhizospheric soils showed high concentrations of metals, especially Cu and Pb, which significantly reduced the abundance of the different groups of soil microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes) and the activity of soil dehydrogenase. The analysis of bacterial communities by DGGE revealed that bacterial diversity was not negatively affected by metal contamination being higher in the most contaminated area (Z1).

Conclusions

Overall, the microbial abundance, the composition, and the diversity of rhizospheric bacterial communities were more influenced by the environmental factors in sampling zones than by plant cover. Microbial counts and enzymatic activity were both systematically affected throughout the metal gradient, evidencing as good indicators of the harmful effects of anthropogenic disturbances in soils. H. scorparium and P. harmala proved to be good candidates for the development of phytotechnological programs aiming the revegetation of mining degraded areas.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the scientific collaboration of Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) project UID/Multi/50016/2019. We are also grateful to Dr. A. El Gharmali for his constant help in the analysis of heavy metals in different samples and to Dr. Marta Alves for her help in DGGE data analysis.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the “Convention de coopération CNRST-Morocco/FCT-Portugal,” Centre National de Recherche Scientifique et Techniques [grant no. PPR 22/2015] and by the project PhytoSudoe (SOE1/P5/E0189)—Demostração de melhorias na biodiversidade do solo, funcionalidade e serviços ambientais de locais contaminados e/ou degradados sob intervenção de fitotecnologias dentro da região Interreg Sudoe, funded by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional under Programa INTERREG.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Laboratoire Aliments, Environnement et Santé, Université Cadi Ayyad, Boulevard Abdelkrim Khattabi, BP 549, 40000, Marrakech, Morocco

    Leila Benidire, Ahmed Naylo & Ali Boularbah

  2. CBQF—Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina—Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005, Porto, Portugal

    Sofia I. A. Pereira & Paula M. L. Castro

  3. AgrobioSciences Program, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), Ben Guerir, Morocco

    Ali Boularbah

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  1. Leila Benidire
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Benidire, L., Pereira, S.I.A., Naylo, A. et al. Do metal contamination and plant species affect microbial abundance and bacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of metallophytes growing in mining areas in a semiarid climate?. J Soils Sediments 20, 1003–1017 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02475-4

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