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Effects of lead and zinc mining contamination on bacterial community diversity and enzyme activities of vicinal cropland

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Abstract

In the process of mining activity, many kinds of heavy metals enter into soils with dust, causing serious contamination to the environment. In this study, six soils were sampled from cropland at different distances from a lead/zinc mine in Heilongjiang Province, China. The total contents of lead and zinc in the vicinal cropland exceeded the third level of environmental quality standard for soil in China, which indicated that soils in this area were moderately contaminated. Bacterial community diversity and population were greatly decreased when the concentrations of lead and zinc were beyond 1,500 and 995 mg kg − 1, respectively, as analyzed by plate counting and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The bands of DGGE patterns varied with the degree of contamination. The activities of soil urease, phosphatase, and dehydrogenase were negatively correlated with the concentrations of lead and zinc. The highest inhibitory effect of heavy metals on soil enzyme activities was observed in urease. It was noted that PCR-DGGE patterns combined with soil enzyme activity analysis can be indices for the soil quality assessment by heavy metal contamination.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Resource and Environmental Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150030, China

    Juanjuan Qu, Bao Chen & Yong E

  2. Yichun Institute of Forestry, Yichun, Heilongjiang, 153000, China

    Guangming Ren

  3. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Indian River Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, 34945, USA

    Jinghua Fan

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  1. Juanjuan Qu
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  3. Bao Chen
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Correspondence to Juanjuan Qu.

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Qu, J., Ren, G., Chen, B. et al. Effects of lead and zinc mining contamination on bacterial community diversity and enzyme activities of vicinal cropland. Environ Monit Assess 182, 597–606 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-1900-6

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