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Plant growth in amended molybdenum mine waste rock

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Abstract

This greenhouse study examined the use of organic and inorganic soil amendments in waste rock material from the former Questa Molybdenum Mine in northern New Mexico to promote beneficial soil properties. Waste rock material was amended with 11 soil amendment treatments that included municipal composted biosolids, Biosol®, inorganic fertilizer, and two controls (pure waste rock and sand). Elymus trachycaulus and Robinia neomexicana growth performance and plant chemistry were assessed across all treatments over a period of 99 and 141 days, respectively. Even though waste rock material had more than 200 times the molybdenum concentration of native soils, adverse effects were not observed for either species. The two main limiting factors in this study were soil nutritional status and soil water retention. The biosolid amendment was found to provide the greatest buffer against these limiting factors due to significant increases in both nutrition and soil water retention. As a result, both species responded with the highest levels of biomass production and the least amount of required water demands. Use of organic amendments such as biosolids, even though short lived in the soil, may provide plants the necessary growth stimulus to become more resilient to the harsh conditions found on many mine reclamation sites.

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Acknowledgements

Funding support for this research was provided by Chevron Mining, Inc. Additional logistical and analytical support was provided by Arcadis US, Inc. The authors extend special acknowledgments to T. Parsons, R. Heyduck, B. Espinoza, J. Trujillo, and L. Gallegos.

Author’s contributions

OB, ER, and CL conceived and designed the research. OB performed the experiments. OB analyzed the data. OB, ER, and CL contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. OB, ER, and CL wrote and edited the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. John T Harrington Forestry Research Center, College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, PO Box 359, Mora, NM, 87732, USA

    Owen T. Burney

  2. Redente Ecological Consultants, 2417 Brookwood Drive, Fort Collins, CO, 80525, USA

    Edward F. Redente

  3. Intrinsik, Inc., 1608 Pacific Ave., Suite 201, Venice, CA, 90291, USA

    Charles E. Lambert

Authors
  1. Owen T. Burney
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  2. Edward F. Redente
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  3. Charles E. Lambert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Owen T. Burney.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Implications

• Composted biosolids (municipal waste) was found to be an effective soil amendment in establishing plants on mine waste rock material. Biosolids help to buffer against limited precipitation and low native soil nutrients through increasing both soil water retention and plant-available nutrients.

• Plant toxicity was not observed in either Elymus trachycaulus or Elymus trachycaulus when planted in waste rock material that contained over 200 times the molybdenum concentrations of native soils. Additionally, uptake and bioaccumulation of molybdenum in both plant species did not reach levels considered toxic to potential herbivores.

• Adding inorganic nutrients with limited organic material to retain water will result in increased growth as well as water demands, which is not ideal for this harsh, dry site conditions.

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Burney, O.T., Redente, E.F. & Lambert, C.E. Plant growth in amended molybdenum mine waste rock. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 11215–11227 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8716-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8716-z

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