Promoting the recovery of soil health in As and Sb-polluted soils: new evidence from the biochar-compost option.

The role of compost and biochar in the recovery of As and Sb-polluted soils is poorly investigated, as well as the influence of their application rates on soil health and quality. In this study, we therefore investigated the effectiveness over time (2, 4, and 6 months, M) of a municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) and a biochar (BC), applied at 10 and 30% rates, and of selected mixtures (MIX; applied at 10 and 30% total rates, 1:1 ratio of MSWC and BC), on labile As and Sb in a polluted soil from an abandoned Sb mine (Djebel Hamimat, Algeria). At the same timepoints, the amendment impact on soil chemistry was also monitored, while the activity and diversity of the resident microbial communities were investigated at 6 M.

Effects of antimony and arsenic on antioxidant enzyme activities of two steppic plant species in an old antimony mining area.

The present work was undertaken to determine strategies and antioxidant enzyme activities involved in the adaptation of two wild steppic plants (Hedysarum pallidum Desf. and Lygeum spartum L.) to the toxic environment of the abandoned antimony mining area of Djebel Hamimat (Algeria).