Phytotoxicity of sodium fluoride and uptake of fluoride in willow trees.

The willow tree (Salix viminalis) toxicity test and a cress seed germination test (Lepidium sativum) were used to determine uptake of F and phytotoxicity of NaF. Concentrations in hydroponic solutions were 0-1000 mg F/L and 0-400 mg F/L in the preliminary and definitive test. A third test was done with soils collected from a fluoride-contaminated site at Fredericia, Denmark.

Impact of soil amendments and the plant rhizosphere on PAH behaviour in soil.

Carbonaceous amendments reduce PAH dissolved concentrations (Cfree), limiting their uptake and toxicity. A soil contaminated with PAHs was mixed with activated carbon (AC), charcoal or compost and planted with radish (Raphanus sativus L.), and Cfree, chemical activities and diffusive uptake of the PAHs measured over 2 months.

Degradation of three benzonitrile herbicides by Aminobacter MSH1 versus soil microbial communities: pathways and kinetics.

Background: The herbicide dichlobenil was banned in the European Union after its metabolite 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) was encountered in groundwater. Owing to structural similarities, bromoxynil and ioxynil might be converted to persistent metabolites in a similar manner. To examine this, we used an indigenous soil bacterium Aminobacter sp.

Impact of activated carbon, biochar and compost on the desorption and mineralization of phenanthrene in soil.

Sorption of PAHs to carbonaceous soil amendments reduces their dissolved concentrations, limiting toxicity but also potentially biodegradation. Therefore, the maximum abiotic desorption of freshly sorbed phenanthrene (≤5 mg kg(-1)) was measured in three soils amended with activated carbon (AC), biochar or compost. Total amounts of phenanthrene desorbed were similar between the different soils, but the amendment type had a large influence.

Hailstones: a window into the microbial and chemical inventory of a storm cloud.

Storm clouds frequently form in the summer period in temperate climate zones. Studies on these inaccessible and short-lived atmospheric habitats have been scarce. We report here on the first comprehensive biogeochemical investigation of a storm cloud using hailstones as a natural stochastic sampling tool.

Comparing the desorption and biodegradation of low concentrations of phenanthrene sorbed to activated carbon, biochar and compost.

Carbonaceous soil amendments are applied to contaminated soils and sediments to strongly sorb hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) and reduce their freely dissolved concentrations. This limits biouptake and toxicity, but also biodegradation. To investigate whether HOCs sorbed to such amendments can be degraded at all, the desorption and biodegradation of low concentrations of (14)C-labelled phenanthrene (≤5 μg L(-1)) freshly sorbed to suspensions of the pure soil amendments activated carbon (AC), biochar (charcoal) and compost were compared.

Test of tree core sampling for screening of toxic elements in soils from a Norwegian site.

Tree core samples have been used to delineate organic subsurface plumes. In 2009 and 2010, samples were taken at trees growing on a former dump site in Norway and analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). Concentrations in wood were in averages (dw) 30 mg/kg for Zn, 2 mg/kg for Cu, and < 1 mg/kg for Cd, Cr, As and Ni.

The microbial diversity of a storm cloud as assessed by hailstones.

Being an extreme environment, the atmosphere may act as a selective barrier for bacterial dispersal, where only most robust organisms survive. By remaining viable during atmospheric transport, these cells affect the patterns of microbial distribution and modify the chemical composition of the atmosphere. The species evenness and richness, and the community composition of a storm cloud were studied applying cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent techniques to a collection of hailstones.

Dynamic passive dosing for studying the biotransformation of hydrophobic organic chemicals: microbial degradation as an example.

Biotransformation plays a key role in hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) fate, and understanding kinetics as a function of (bio)availability is critical for elucidating persistence, accumulation, and toxicity. Biotransformation mainly occurs in an aqueous environment, posing technical challenges for producing kinetic data because of low HOC solubilities and sorptive losses. To overcome these, a new experimental approach based on passive dosing is presented.

Time-weighted average SPME analysis for in planta determination of cVOCs.

The potential of phytoscreening for plume delineation at contaminated sites has promoted interest in innovative, sensitive contaminant sampling techniques. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) methods have been developed, offering quick, undemanding, noninvasive sampling without the use of solvents. In this study, time-weighted average SPME (TWA-SPME) sampling was evaluated for in planta quantification of chlorinated solvents.

Removal of 4-chlorobenzoic acid from spiked hydroponic solution by willow trees (Salix viminalis).

Background: Chlorobenzoic acids (CBA) are intermediate products of the aerobic microbial degradation of PCB and several pesticides. This study explores the feasibility of using basket willows, Salix viminalis, to remove 4-CBA from polluted sites, which also might stimulate PCB degradation.

Methods: The removal of 4-CBA by willow trees was investigated with intact, septic willow trees growing in hydroponic solution and with sterile cell suspensions at concentrations of 5 mg/L and 50 mg/L 4-CBA.

Low accessibility and chemical activity of PAHs restrict bioremediation and risk of exposure in a manufactured gas plant soil.

Composting of manufactured gas plant soil by a commercial enterprise had removed most of its polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but concentrations remained above regulatory threshold levels. Several amendments and treatments were first tested to restart the PAH degradation, albeit with little success. The working hypothesis was then that PAHs were "stuck" due to strong sorption to black carbon.

Biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by enriched bacterial culture.

Degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a sole carbon and energy source was investigated utilizing an enriched bacterial consortium derived from an old environmental MTBE spill. This enriched culture grew on MTBE with concentration up to 500 mg/l, reducing the MTBE in medium to undetectable concentrations in 23 days. Traces of tert-butyl alcohol were detected during MTBE degradation.

Effects of C60 fullerene nanoparticles on soil bacteria and protozoans.

Nanotechnology should produce numerous new materials in the coming years. Because of the novel design of nanomaterials with new physicochemical characteristics, their potential adverse impact on the environment and human health must be addressed. In the present study, agglomerates of pristine C60 fullerenes (50 nm to microm-size) were applied to soil at 0, 5, 25, and 50 mg/kg dry soil to assess their effect on the soil microbiota by measuring total respiration; biomass, number, and diversity of bacteria; and total number and diversity of protozoans during 14 d.

Using tree core samples to monitor natural attenuation and plume distribution after a PCE spill.

The potential of using tree core samples to detect and monitor natural attenuation of perchloroethene (PCE) in groundwater was investigated at a PCE-contaminated site. In the area of the known plume with PCE concentrations between 0.004 and > 40 mg/L, cores were collected from tree trunks at a height of about 1 m above ground surface.

The introduction of genetically modified microorganisms designed for rhizoremediation induces changes on native bacteria in the rhizosphere but not in the surrounding soil.

A 168-day microcosms experiment was used to assess the possible functional and structural shifts occurring in the bacterial community of a site with a historical record of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination, after the introduction of plants whose roots have been inoculated with genetically modified (GM) microorganisms, designed for rhizoremediation. Salix sp. plants were inoculated with two different GM Pseudomonas fluorescens strains or with their parental wild-type strain.

Enhanced diffusion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in artificial and natural aqueous solutions.

Uptake of hydrophobic organic compounds into organisms is often limited by the diffusive transport through a thin boundary layer. Therefore, a microscale diffusion technique was applied to determine the diffusive mass transfer of 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons through water, air, surfactant solutions, humic acid solutions, aqueous soil and horse manure extracts, digestive fluid of a deposit-feeding worm, and root exudates from willow plants. In most cases the diffusive mass transfer of PAHs was much higher through the tested media than through water, and the enhancement factors increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the PAHs.

Degradation of PCB congeners by bacterial strains.

Biological in situ methods are options for the remediation of contaminated sites. An approach to quantify biodegradation by soil bacteria was developed, combining experiment with mathematical modelling. We performed in vitro assays to investigate the potential and kinetics of the wild-type degrader, Burkholderia sp.

Changes in bacterial populations and in biphenyl dioxygenase gene diversity in a polychlorinated biphenyl-polluted soil after introduction of willow trees for rhizoremediation.

The aim of this study was to analyze the structural and functional changes occurring in a polychlorinated-biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil ecosystem after the introduction of a suitable host plant for rhizoremediation (Salix viminalis). We have studied the populations and phylogenetic distribution of key bacterial groups (Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria) and the genes encoding iron-sulfur protein alpha (ISPalpha) subunits of the toluene/biphenyl dioxygenases in soil and rhizosphere by screening gene libraries using temperature gradient gel electrophoresis. The results, based on the analysis of 415 clones grouped into 133 operational taxonomic units that were sequence analyzed (>128 kbp), show that the rhizospheric bacterial community which evolved from the native soil community during the development of the root system was distinct from the soil community for all groups studied except for the Actinobacteria.

Diffuse PAH contamination of surface soils: environmental occurrence, bioavailability, and microbial degradation.

The purpose of this review is to recognize the scientific and environmental importance of diffuse pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Diffuse PAH pollution of surface soil is characterized by large area extents, low PAH concentrations, and the lack of point sources. Urban and pristine topsoils receive a continuous input of pyrogenic PAHs, which induces a microbial potential for PAH degradation.

Determining chemical activity of (semi)volatile compounds by headspace solid-phase microextraction.

This research introduces a new analytical methodology for measuring chemical activity of nonpolar (semi)volatile organic compounds in different sample matrices using automated solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The chemical activity of an analyte is known to determine its equilibrium concentration in the SPME fiber coating. On this basis, SPME was utilized for the analytical determination of chemical activity, fugacity, and freely dissolved concentration using these steps: (1) a sample is brought into a vial, (2) the SPME fiber is introduced into the headspace and equilibrated with the sample, (3) the SPME fiber is injected into the GC for thermal desorption and analysis, and (4) the method is calibrated by SPME above partitioning standards in methanol.

Distribution of the Mycobacterium community and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) among different size fractions of a long-term PAH-contaminated soil.

Summary Mycobacterium is often isolated from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soil as degraders of PAHs. In model systems, Mycobacterium shows attachment to the PAH substrate source, which is considered to be a particular adaptation to low bioavailability as it results into increased substrate flux to the degraders. To examine whether PAH-degrading Mycobacterium in real PAH-contaminated soils, in analogy with model systems, are preferentially associated with PAH-enriched soil particles, the distribution of PAHs, of the PAH-mineralizing capacity and of Mycobacterium over different fractions of a soil with an aged PAH contamination was investigated.

Microbial degradation of street dust polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in microcosms simulating diffuse pollution of urban soil.

Diffuse pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of topsoil in urban regions has caused increasing concerns in recent years. We simulated diffuse pollution of soil in microcosms by spiking sandy topsoil (A-horizon) and coarse, mineral subsoil (C-horizon) with street dust (PM63) isolated from municipal street sweepings from central Copenhagen. The microbial communities adapted to PAH degradation in microcosms spiked with street dust in both A-horizon and C-horizon soils, in spite of low PAH-concentrations.

PAH degradation capacity of soil microbial communities--does it depend on PAH exposure?

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous pollutants of the environment. But is their microbial degradation equally wide in distribution? We estimated the PAH degradation capacity of 13 soils ranging from pristine locations (total PAHs approximately 0.1 mg kg(-1)) to heavily polluted industrial sites (total PAHs approximately 400 mg kg(-1)).

Multivariate statistical methods for evaluating biodegradation of mineral oil.

Two methods were developed for evaluating natural attenuation and bioremediation of mineral oil after environmental spills and during in vitro experiments. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode was used to obtain compound-specific data. The chromatographic data were then preprocessed either by calculating the first derivative, retention time alignment and normalization or by peak identification, quantification and calculation of diagnostic ratios within homologue series of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs).