Repeated application of composted tannery sludge affects differently soil microbial biomass, enzymes activity, and ammonia-oxidizing organisms

Archaeal and Extremophilic Bacteria from Different Archaeological Excavation Sites

Beside natural factors, human activities are important for the development of microbiomes. Thus, local soil bacterial communities are affected by recent activities such as agriculture, mining and industry. In addition, ancient human impacts dating back centuries or millennia have changed soils and can emboss the recent bacterial communities up to now, representing a certain long-term “memory of soil”. Soil samples from five different archaeological excavation places were investigated for the presence of Archaea with a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analysis of the DNA coding for 16S r-RNA sequences. It was found that the abundance of Archaea differs strongly between less than one and more than 40 percent of bacteria. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of all samples shows that the archaeological excavation places can be distinguished from each other by the archaeal component of soil bacterial communities, which presents a typical pattern for each place. Most samples are marked by the dominance of Crenarchaeota, which are presented mainly by ammonia-related types. High contents of Nanoarchaeaota have been observed in one ash deposit of a historical saline and all samples of a historical tannery area. These samples are also marked by a significant presence of Dadabacteria. The specific abundancies of special Archaea—among them ammonia-oxidizing and sulphur-related types—are due obviously to former human activities and support the concept of the “ecological memory of soil”.

Microbial co-occurrence network and its key microorganisms in soil with permanent application of composted tannery sludge

Soil microbial communities act on important environmental processes, being sensitive to the application of wastes, mainly those potential contaminants, such as tannery sludge. Due to the microbiome complexity, graph-theoretical approaches have been applied to represent model microbial communities interactions and identify important taxa, mainly in contaminated soils. Herein, we performed network and statistical analyses into microbial 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from soil samples with the application of different levels of composted tannery sludge (CTS) to assess the most connected nodes and the nodes that act as bridges to identify key microbes within each community. The network analysis revealed hubs belonging to Proteobacteria in soil with lower CTS rates, while active degraders of recalcitrant and pollutant chemical hubs belonging to Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were found in soils under the highest CTS rates. The majority of classified connectors belonged to Actinobacteria, but similarly to hubs taxa, they shifted from metabolic functional profile to taxa with abilities to degrade toxic compounds, revealing a soil perturbation with the CTS application on community organization, which also impacted the community modularity. Members of Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria were identified as both hub and connector suggesting their role as keystone groups. Thus, these results offered us interesting insights about crucial taxa, their response to environmental alterations, and possible implications for the ecosystem.

Phytotoxicity and cytogenotoxicity of composted tannery sludge

Tannery sludge (TS) contains high levels of organic matter and chemical elements, mainly chromium (Cr). This can increase its toxicity, rendering it unsuitable for application to soil. However, composting has been proposed as an alternative method for detoxifying TS before its addition to soil. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the phytotoxic and cytogenotoxic potential of untreated (TS) and composted (CTS) tannery sludge in solid and solubilized samples. Seed germination and root growth bioassays were performed with Lactuca sativa, while chromosomal aberrations were assessed using the Allium cepa bioassay. In solid samples, the L. sativa bioassay showed that TS adversely affected germination and root growth, while CTS had a negative affect only on root growth. In solubilized samples, only TS showed significant adverse effects on seed germination and root growth. In both solid and solubilized samples, TS and CTS showed cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic effects on A. cepa. Thus, results demonstrated that the composting of TS does not result in its complete detoxification. For this reason, TS and CTS cannot be recommended for agricultural use, since they may increase the risk of environmental contamination and crop damage.

Dynamics of archaeal community in soil with application of composted tannery sludge

Application of composted tannery sludge (CTS) could promote a shift in the structure of soil microbial communities. Although the effect of CTS on bacterial community has been studied, it is unclear how the composition and diversity of archaeal community respond to CTS amendment and which environmental factors drive the community over time. Here, we hypothesize that the Archaea structure and composition respond to CTS amendment over the time. CTS had been previously applied annually along 6 years and this assessment occurred for 180 days following the application in the 7^th year by using different rates (0, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 ton ha⁻¹). We used amplicon 16S rRNA sequencing to assess the changes in the structure of the archaeal community. Thaumarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were the most abundant phyla found in soils with application of CTS, with Thaumarchaeota dominating the sequences in all samples with relative abundances of >98%. We observed a decreasing trend on the archaeal diversity over the time with increasing CTS application rate, together with an increase in the community similarity. The redundancy analyses (RDA) explained 43% of the total variation in operational taxonomic units and identified Na, pH, Cr and P as the main drivers of the archaeal community over time after application of highest CTS rates. CTS application changes the structure of Archaea community, with significant increase of Thaumarchaeota and Aenigmarchaeota groups, which can be further explored for its biotechnological use in contaminated soils.

Less abundant bacterial groups are more affected than the most abundant groups in composted tannery sludge-treated soil

The application of composted tannery sludge (CTS) has promoted shifts in soil chemical properties and, therefore, can affect the soil bacterial community. This study assessed the effect of the CTS on the soil bacterial community over time. The CTS was applied at five rates (0, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 t/ha), and the bacterial community was evaluated for 180 days. The principal curve response (PRC) analysis showed that the most abundant phyla were not influenced by the CTS rates over time, while the analysis of the bacterial community showed that some of the less abundant phyla were influenced by the CTS rates. Similarly, the PRC analysis for the bacterial classes showed the significant effect of the CTS rates. The redundancy analyses for the bacterial phyla and classes showed the relationship between the significant chemical properties and the bacterial community of the soil after the CTS amendment over time. Therefore, there was a shift in the bacterial community over time with the application of the composted tannery sludge. Our study has shown that the less abundant bacterial groups were more influenced by the CTS than the most abundant bacterial groups and that these bacterial groups were driven by soil chemical properties, primarily chromium (Cr) and the soil pH.

Time-dependent effect of composted tannery sludge on the chemical and microbial properties of soil

Composting has been suggested as an efficient method for tannery sludge recycling before its application to the soil. However, the application of composted tannery sludge (CTS) should be monitored to evaluate its effect on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. This study evaluated the time-dependent effect of CTS on the chemical and microbial properties of soil. CTS was applied at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha^-1 and the soil chemical and microbial properties were evaluated at 0, 45, 75, 150, and 180 days. Increased CTS rates increased the levels of Ca, Cr, and Mg. While Soil pH, organic C, and P increased with the CTS rates initially, this effect decreased over time. Soil microbial biomass, respiration, metabolic quotient, and dehydrogenase increased with the application of CTS, but decreased over time. Analysis of the Principal Response Curve showed a significant effect of CTS rate on the chemical and microbial properties of the soil over time. The weight of each variable indicated that all soil properties, except β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase and microbial quotient, increased due to the CTS application. However, the highest weights were found for Cr, pH, Ca, P, phosphatase and total organic C. The application of CTS in the soil changed the chemical and microbial properties over time, indicating Cr, pH, Ca, phosphatase, and soil respiration as the more responsive chemical and microbial variables by CTS application.

Agricultural utilization of biosolids: A review on potential effects on soil and plant grown

Environmental and economic implications linked with the proper ecofriendly disposal of modern day wastes, has made it essential to come up with alternative waste management practices that reduce the environmental pressures resulting from unwise disposal of such wastes. Urban wastes like biosolids are loaded with essential plant nutrients. In this view, agricultural use of biosolids would enable recycling of these nutrients and could be a sustainable approach towards management of this hugely generated waste. Therefore biosolids i.e. sewage sludge can serve as an important resource for agricultural utilization. Biosolids are characterized by the occurrence of beneficial plant nutrients (essential elements and micro and macronutrients) which can make help them to work as an effective soil amendment, thereby minimizing the reliance on chemical fertilizers. However, biosolids might contain toxic heavy metals that may limit its usage in the cropland. Heavy metals at higher concentration than the permissible limits may lead to food chain contamination and have fatal consequences. Biosolids amendment in soil can improve physical and nutrient property of soil depending on the quantity and portion of the mixture. Hence, biosolids can be a promising soil ameliorating supplement to increase plant productivity, reduce bioavailability of heavy metals and also lead to effective waste management.

Multi-spectral and thermodynamic analysis of the interaction mechanism between Cu2+ and α-amylase and impact on sludge hydrolysis

An increasing amount of heavy metals (e.g., Cu²⁺) is being discharged into sewage treatment plants and is accumulating in sludge, which is toxic to the enzyme in sludge or soil when the sludge is used as fertilizer, resulting in unfavorable effect on the biological treatment of sludge and the circulation and conversion of materials in soil. In this research, effect of Cu²⁺ on sludge hydrolysis by α-amylase is studied from the respect of concentration and components of soluble organic matter in sludge, using three-dimensional fluorescence spectra. Results show that Cu²⁺ exposure not only inhibits the hydrolysis of sludge due to the denaturation of α-amylase but also affects the components of soluble organic matter in sludge. In order to illuminate the interaction mechanism between Cu²⁺ and α-amylase (a model of hydrolase in sludge), multi-spectra and isothermal titration microcalorimetry techniques are applied. Results show that the secondary structure of α-amylase is changed as that the α-helical content increases and the structure loosens. The microenvironment of amino acid residue in α-amylase is changed that the hydrophobicity decreases and the polarity increases with Cu²⁺ exposure. Isothermal titration calorimetry results show that Van der Waals force and hydrogen bond exist in the interaction between Cu²⁺ and α-amylase. Results from this research would favor the development of advanced process for the biological treatment of sludge containing heavy metals.