Pine needles as bioindicator and biomagnetic indicator of selected metals in the street dust, a case study from southeastern Iran.

Among the different approaches currently being used to evaluate the contamination level of street dust, the magnetic susceptibility of dust and urban tree leaves has received little attention. The key objectives of this study were: (i) to investigate the feasibility of using pine needles as a bioindicator and biomagnetic indicator for estimating the concentration of selected metals in street dust, and (ii) to predict the contamination level of street dust by selected metals using magnetic susceptibility. Street dust and pine tree needle samples were taken from 60 locations in three adjacent cities in Kerman province (Kerman, Rafsanjan, and Sirjan), southeastern Iran.

Bio-Monitoring of Metal(loid)s Pollution in Dry Riverbeds Affected by Mining Activity.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the most abundant native plants that could be used as a bio-monitor of metal(loid) concentration in dry riverbeds affected by mining activities. Three plants species and their respective rhizospheric soils were sampled from the El Beal (, 15 samples), La Carrasquilla (, 10 samples), and Ponce (, 12 samples) dry riverbeds from the mining district of Cartegena-La Unión (SE Spain). There is scanty bibliography of the capacity of these species to be used as bio-monitors in the dry riverbeds.

Phytoremediation Potential of Native Plant Species in Mine Soils Polluted by Metal(loid)s and Rare Earth Elements.

Mining activity has an adverse impact on the surrounding ecosystem, especially via the release of potentially toxic elements (PTEs); therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient technologies to remediate these ecosystems, especially soils. Phytoremediation can be potentially used to remediate contaminated areas by potentially toxic elements. However, in soils affected by polymetallic contamination, including metals, metalloids, and rare earth elements (REEs), it is necessary to evaluate the behavior of these toxic elements in the soil-plant system, which will allow the selection of the most appropriate native plants with phytoremediation potential to be used in phytoremediation programs.

Efficiency of large-scale aided phytostabilization in a mining pond.

Mining activities accumulate large quantities of waste in tailing ponds, which results in several environmental impacts. In Cartagena-La Unión mining district (SE Spain), a field experiment was carried out in a tailing pond to evaluate the effect of aided phytostabilization on reducing the bioavailability of zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) and enhancing soil quality. Nine native plant species were planted, and pig manure and slurry along with marble waste were used as amendments.

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and geochemical analysis dataset to delimit subsurface affected areas by livestock pig slurry ponds.

The electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique was employed with the support of geochemical analyses to delimit the affected surface area by slurry pig ponds. Data were taken in three selected slurry ponds located in Fuente Álamo municipality, Murcia region (SE Spain), to obtain electrical resistivity value-based 2D sections and 3D blocks. All ERT-based survey data were obtained in September 2020 using a SuperSting R8 resistivity meter from Advanced Geosciences Inc.

Soil Water Content Prediction Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) in Mediterranean Tree Orchard Soils.

Water scarcity in arid and semiarid regions poses problems for agricultural systems, awakening special interest in the development of deficit irrigation strategies to improve water conservation. Toward this purpose, farmers and technicians must monitor soil water and soluble nutrient contents in real time using simple, rapid and economical techniques through time and space. Thus, this study aimed to achieve the following: (i) create a model that predicts water and soluble nutrient contents in soil profiles using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT); and (ii) apply the model to different woody crops under different irrigation regimes (full irrigation and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI)) to assess the efficiency of the model.

Use of Piptatherum miliaceum to enable the establishment success of Salvia rosmarinus in Technosols developed from pyritic tailings.

With this study we aimed to assess the effect of the prior development of Piptatherum miliaceum (Pm) in a Technosol on the establishment of Salvia rosmarinus (Sr) as a cash crop. An experimental pot was performed with two biochar (BCh) doses (BCh1 and BCh2) mixed with marble waste and pyritic tailings, with and without Pm. After 12 months of Pm growth, the pots with this species were divided into two sets: Sr alone and Sr + Pm.

Assessing the behaviour of heavy metals in abandoned phosphogypsum deposits combining electrical resistivity tomography and multivariate analysis.

This study presents the results of a physical-chemical characterisation of phosphogypsum deposits generated with hydrochloric and sulphuric acid during the wet acid process. The paper aims to establish an efficient methodology based on electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), chemical analysis and multivariate analysis identifying the areas most contaminated by heavy metals in an abandoned factory where fertiliser was derived from phosphoric rock. This fertiliser has provided many benefits to agriculture; however, it generates a vast amount of waste (5 tonnes phosphoric rock/1 tonne fertiliser).

Investigating the relationship between speciation and oral/lung bioaccessibility of a highly contaminated tailing: contribution in health risk assessment.

Anthropogenic activities such as industrial, mining, or agricultural are the main sources of environmental contamination. One of the most problematic contaminations concerns metals and metalloids from mining activities. This contamination raises the question of the environmental risk induced and the spread of this pollution (geographical and trophic) and the associated health risk.

Remediation of an oil-contaminated soil by two native plants treated with biochar and mycorrhizae.

Soil contamination by petroleum compounds threatens the health of soil and water resources. This research was conducted with the objective of reaching an efficient technique for the removal or reduction of harmful effects caused by total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in soils. In a greenhouse experiment, the effect of biochar (B), mycorrhizae (M) and combination of mycorrhizae and biochar (M + B) on the growth of two native species; clover (Trifolium arvense) and mallow (Malva sylvestris L.

Concentration and chemical distribution of metals and arsenic under different typical Mediterranean cropping systems.

Soil under an intensive agriculture production could result in metal pollution if bad management practices are carried out. The aims of this study were to evaluate the influence of cropping systems on soil metal(loid)s accumulation and speciation and to identify metal sources for each cropping system. To achieve these objectives, 40 soil samples from cereal, fruit, citrus and horticultural cropping areas and 15 samples from non-disturbed areas were collected.

Predicting spatial distribution of heavy metals in an abandoned phosphogypsum pond combining geochemistry, electrical resistivity tomography and statistical methods.

One of the wastes generated in fertiliser production from phosphoric rock is phosphogypsum, whose mismanagement lead to environmental and health risks. Therefore, a detailed evaluation of the chemical composition of phosphogypsum is necessary to determine effective means of its management. Due to the high amount of generated waste, the cost and time consumed for this characterisation by chemical analysis is limiting.

Greenhouse gas emissions and soil organic matter dynamics in woody crop orchards with different irrigation regimes.

Water scarcity in arid, semiarid and dry regions is a limiting factor for the development of sustainable agriculture. As a consequence, the adoption of new strategies such as regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) to reduce water and energy consumption will be essential. Decreases in irrigation water content may also have positive effects on soil C cycle.

Effect of land use and soil properties in the feasibility of two sequential extraction procedures for metals fractionation.

Several sequential extraction procedures are widely applied for metals chemical fractionation in the literature. However, their limitations to be used in different soils and metals have not been discussed in detail. This study compares two of the most commonly used extraction methods for metals chemical fractionation: Tessier and BCR.

Environmental impact assessment of industrial activities on heavy metals distribution in street dust and soil.

Street dust and soil are important materials for evaluating the contaminants level in industrial areas. Detailed size-resolved distribution of metal(loid)s in street dusts and soils influenced by industrial activities has rarely been investigated. This study was carried out to understand how industrialization might affect the size distribution of metal(loid)s concentration and contamination level in the street dust and soil from Murcia, southern Spain.

Provenance and environmental risk of windblown materials from mine tailing ponds, Murcia, Spain.

Atmospheric particulates play a vital role in the transport of potentially toxic metals, being an important exposure pathways of people to toxic elements, which is faster and can occur in a much larger scale than water, soil and biota transport. Windblown materials in abandoned tailing ponds have not been well examined. The objectives of this investigation were: to study the major physical and geochemical properties of the materials eroded by wind inside the tailing ponds, and to understand the relative contribution of different sources to its heavy metals concentration.

Bioaugmentaton in Technosols created in abandoned pyritic tailings can contribute to enhance soil C sequestration and plant colonization.

Creation of Technosols in combination with phytostabilization may be a sustainable strategy to minimize the environmental and human health hazards derived from mine tailings. Bioaugmentation can facilitate plant establishment and growth for efficient phytostabilization. In order to assess if bioaugmentation can increase soil quality and fertility, decrease metal(loid) mobility and accelerate plant colonization, a one-year field experiment was designed with creation of Technosols in two tailings ponds with different pH (acidic (AT) and neutral (NT)), with addition of marble waste (MaW) and two organic materials (pig manure (PM) and sewage sludge (SS), without or with inoculation of effective microorganisms (EM) at three rates.

Speciation of arsenic in bulk and rhizosphere soils from artisanal cooperative mines in Bolivia.

Soils near artisanal and small-scale gold mines (ASGM) have high arsenic (As) contents due to the presence of arsenopyrite in gold ores and accelerated accumulations due to mine wastes disposal practices and other mining activities. We determined the content and speciation to understand the fate and environmental risks of As accumulations in 24 bulk and 12 rhizosphere soil samples collected in the Virgen Del Rosario and the Rayo Rojo cooperative mines in the highlands of Bolivia. Mean total As contents in bulk and rhizosphere soils ranged from 13 to 64 mg kg(-1) and exceeded the soil environmental quality guidelines of Canada.

Carbon mineralization, microbial activity and metal dynamics in tailing ponds amended with pig slurry and marble waste.

A field experiment was set up in Cartagena-La Unión Mining District, SE Spain, aimed at evaluating the short-term effects of pig slurry (PS) amendment alone and together with marble waste (MW) on organic matter mineralization, microbial activity and stabilization of heavy metals in two tailing ponds. These structures pose environmental risk owing to high metals contents, low organic matter and nutrients, and null vegetation. Carbon mineralization, exchangeable metals and microbiological properties were monitored during 67 d.

High altitude artisanal small-scale gold mines are hot spots for Mercury in soils and plants.

Mercury releases from artisanal and small-scale gold mines (ASGM) condense and settle on plants, soils and water bodies. We collected soil and plant samples to add knowledge to the likely transfer of Hg from soils into plants and eventually predict Hg accumulation in livestock around ASGM in Bolivia. Mean contents of Hg in soils range from 0.

Heavy metal concentrations in particle size fractions from street dust of Murcia (Spain) as the basis for risk assessment.

Street dust has been sampled from six different types of land use of the city of Murcia (Spain). The samples were fractionated into eleven particle size fractions (<2, 2-10, 10-20, 20-50, 50-75, 75-106, 106-150, 150-180, 180-425, 425-850 μm and 850-2000 μm) and analyzed for Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. The concentrations of these four potentially toxic metals were assessed, as well as the effect of particle size on their distribution.