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Biocrusts significantly affect the bioavailability and ecological risk of heavy metals in gold mine tailings

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Abstract

Aims

Biocrusts are important living covers in ecologically fragile regions that intercept metals entering the soil and indicate heavy metal contamination. This study explored the potential of biocrusts as a novel approach for remediating heavy metal pollution in mining areas. We also investigated the capacity of biocrusts to enrich or degrade heavy metals in gold mine tailings and analyzed the migration, transformation mechanisms, and potential toxic effects of heavy metals in the underlying biocrusts.

Methods

We used the BCR sequential extraction procedure to analyze the speciation of heavy metals in the underlying biocrust layer (moss crusts, mixed crusts (moss + algal), and algal crusts). The risk assessment code (RAC) and potential ecological risk index (Er) were used to evaluate the impact of biocrusts on the ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in soil.

Results

The results showed that (1) well-developed biocrusts had a strong ability to enrich heavy metals, with these metals accumulating at the surface; (2) biocrust growth facilitated the conversion of heavy metals from an inert state to an active form in the underlying layer, enhancing their bioavailability; (3) Spearman’s correlation and redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed the total amount of heavy metals as the primary factor driving the translocation of soil heavy metals, with soil pH, cationic exchange capacity (CEC) and organic matter content (SOM) exerting varying influences; (4) the comprehensive potential ecological risk index indicated that heavy metals in gold tailings at the strong risk levels, mainly due to arsenic exceeded the standard (~ 7 × background values). However, biocrusts reduced the Er of heavy metals in the underlying layer. The RAC results indicated low mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals in the underlying layer, associated with low ecological risk.

Conclusions

As the ‘skin’ of soil, biocrusts could protect soil from heavy metal contamination. Despite enhancing heavy metal bioavailability, their enrichment effect was much greater than their activation effect. As a result, biocrusts hold great promise for remediating heavy metal pollution in degraded ecosystems. Further exploration of the influencing mechanism of biocrusts on heavy metals will help validate their use in mine restoration processes.

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Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Scientific Foundation of China (41971131), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFE0203400, 2017YFC0504703), and the Qinchuangyuan West (Xianyang) Science and Technology Venture Bay (2022 − 747).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Jin Fan, Chongfeng Bu, Wenjuan Zhou, Chun Wang & Yingxin Wei

  2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    Chongfeng Bu

  3. Zhouzhi County Heihe Reservoir Resettlement Leading Group Office, Zhouzhi, Shaanxi, 710400, China

    Yangzhou Qi

  4. The UWA Institute of Agriculture and School of Agriculture & Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Kadambot H. M. Siddique

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  1. Jin Fan
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Contributions

Chongfeng Bu conceived the ideas and designed the methodology; Jin Fan, Yangzhou Qi, Wenjuan Zhou, Chun Wang, and Yingxin Wei collected the data; Jin Fan analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Kadambot H.M. Siddique contributed critically to the manuscript. All authors gave final approval for publication.

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Fan, J., Bu, C., Qi, Y. et al. Biocrusts significantly affect the bioavailability and ecological risk of heavy metals in gold mine tailings. Plant Soil 493, 99–113 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06218-w

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