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Yu C, Luong NT, Hefni ME, Song Z, Högfors-Rönnholm E, Engblom S, Xie S, Chernikov R, Broström M, Boily JF, Åström ME. Storage and Distribution of Organic Carbon and Nutrients in Acidic Soils Developed on Sulfidic Sediments: The Roles of Reactive Iron and Macropores. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:9200-9212. [PMID: 38743440 PMCID: PMC11137870 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c11007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
In a boreal acidic sulfate-rich subsoil (pH 3-4) developing on sulfidic and organic-rich sediments over the past 70 years, extensive brownish-to-yellowish layers have formed on macropores. Our data reveal that these layers ("macropore surfaces") are strongly enriched in 1 M HCl-extractable reactive iron (2-7% dry weight), largely bound to schwertmannite and 2-line ferrihydrite. These reactive iron phases trap large pools of labile organic matter (OM) and HCl-extractable phosphorus, possibly derived from the cultivated layer. Within soil aggregates, the OM is of a different nature from that on the macropore surfaces but similar to that in the underlying sulfidic sediments (C-horizon). This provides evidence that the sedimentary OM in the bulk subsoil has been largely preserved without significant decomposition and/or fractionation, likely due to physiochemical stabilization by the reactive iron phases that also existed abundantly within the aggregates. These findings not only highlight the important yet underappreciated roles of iron oxyhydroxysulfates in OM/nutrient storage and distribution in acidic sulfate-rich and other similar environments but also suggest that boreal acidic sulfate-rich subsoils and other similar soil systems (existing widely on coastal plains worldwide and being increasingly formed in thawing permafrost) may act as global sinks for OM and nutrients in the short run.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changxun Yu
- Department
of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus
University, 39231 Kalmar, Sweden
| | | | - Mohammed E. Hefni
- Department
of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Linnaeus
University, 39231 Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Zhaoliang Song
- Institute
of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Eva Högfors-Rönnholm
- Research
and Development, Novia University of Applied
Sciences, 65200 Vaasa, Finland
| | - Sten Engblom
- Research
and Development, Novia University of Applied
Sciences, 65200 Vaasa, Finland
| | - Shurong Xie
- School
of
Earth Sciences, East China University of
Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
| | - Roman Chernikov
- Canadian
Light Source, 44 Innovation
Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 2 V3, Canada
| | - Markus Broström
- Thermochemical
Energy Conversion Laboratory, Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Mats E. Åström
- Department
of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus
University, 39231 Kalmar, Sweden
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Touchette D, Gostinčar C, Whyte LG, Altshuler I. Lichen-associated microbial members are prevalent in the snow microbiome of a sub-arctic alpine tundra. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2023; 99:fiad151. [PMID: 37977855 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiad151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Snow is the largest component of the cryosphere, with its cover and distribution rapidly decreasing over the last decade due to climate warming. It is imperative to characterize the snow (nival) microbial communities to better understand the role of microorganisms inhabiting these rapidly changing environments. Here, we investigated the core nival microbiome, the cultivable microbial members, and the microbial functional diversity of the remote Uapishka mountain range, a massif of alpine sub-arctic tundra and boreal forest. Snow samples were taken over a two-month interval along an altitude gradient with varying degree of anthropogenic traffic and vegetation cover. The core snow alpine tundra/boreal microbiome, which was present across all samples, constituted of Acetobacterales, Rhizobiales and Acidobacteriales bacterial orders, and of Mycosphaerellales and Lecanorales fungal orders, with the dominant fungal taxa being associated with lichens. The snow samples had low active functional diversity, with Richness values ranging from 0 to 19.5. The culture-based viable microbial enumeration ranged from 0 to 8.05 × 103 CFUs/mL. We isolated and whole-genome sequenced five microorganisms which included three fungi, one alga, and one potentially novel bacterium of the Lichenihabitans genus; all of which appear to be part of lichen-associated taxonomic clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Touchette
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, H9X 3V9, Canada
- River Ecosystems Laboratory, ALPOLE, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1950, Sion, Switzerland
| | - C Gostinčar
- University of Ljubljana, Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
| | - L G Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - I Altshuler
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, H9X 3V9, Canada
- MACE Laboratory, ALPOLE, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1950, Sion, Switzerland
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Nyman A, Johnson A, Yu C, Sohlenius G, Becher M, Dopson M, Åström M. A nationwide acid sulfate soil study - A rapid and cost-efficient approach for characterizing large-scale features. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 869:161845. [PMID: 36709904 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Acid sulfate soils are sulfide-rich soils that pose a notable environmental risk as their strong acidity and low pH mobilizes metals from soil minerals leading to both acidification and metal contamination of the surrounding environment. In this study a rapid and cost-efficient approach was developed to resolve the main distribution patterns and geochemical features of acid sulfate soils throughout coastal plains stretching for some 2000 km in eastern, southern, and western Sweden. Of the investigated 126 field sites, 47 % had acid sulfate soils including 33 % active, 12 % potential, and 2 % pseudo acid sulfate soils. There were large regional variations in the extent of acid sulfate soils, with overall much higher proportions of these soils along the eastern coastal plains facing the Baltic Sea than the western coastal plains facing the Kattegatt/Skagerrak (Atlantic Ocean). The sulfur concentrations of the soil's parent material, consisting of reduced near-pH neutral sediments, were correlated inversely both with the minimum pH of the soils in situ (rS = -0.65) and the pH after incubation (oxidation) of the reduced sediments (rS = -0.77). This indicated the importance of sulfide levels in terms of both present and potential future acidification. Hence, the higher proportion of acid sulfate soils in the east was largely the result of higher sulfur concentrations in this part of the country. The study showed that the approach was successful in identifying large-scale spatial patterns and geochemical characteristics of importance for environmental assessments related to these environmentally unfriendly soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Nyman
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden.
| | - Anders Johnson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Changxun Yu
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden
| | | | - Marina Becher
- Geological Survey of Sweden, Box 670, SE-75128 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark Dopson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Mats Åström
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden
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Johnson A, Högfors-Rönnholm E, Engblom S, Österholm P, Åström M, Dopson M. Dredging and deposition of metal sulfide rich river sediments results in rapid conversion to acid sulfate soil materials. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 813:151864. [PMID: 34822903 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Sediments along the Baltic Sea coast can contain considerable amounts of metal sulfides that if dredged and the spoils deposited such that they are exposed to air, can release high concentrations of acid and toxic metals into recipient water bodies. Two river estuaries in western Finland were dredged from 2013 to 2018 and the dredge spoils were deposited on land previously covered with agricultural limestone to buffer the pH and mitigate acid and metal release. In this study, the geochemistry and 16S rRNA gene amplicon based bacterial communities were investigated over time to explore whether the application of lime prevented a conversion of the dredge spoils into acid producing and metal releasing soil. The pH of the dredge spoils decreased with time indicating metal sulfide oxidation and resulted in elevated sulfate concentrations along with a concomitant release of metals. However, calculations indicated only approximately 5% of the added lime had been dissolved. The bacterial communities decreased in diversity with the lowering of the pH as taxa most similar to extremely acidophilic sulfur, and in some cases iron, oxidizing Acidithiobacillus species became the dominant characterized genus in the deposited dredge spoils as the oxidation front moved deeper. In addition, other taxa characterized as involved in oxidation of iron or sulfur were identified including Gallionella, Sulfuricurvum, and Sulfurimonas. These data suggest there was a rapid conversion of the dredge spoils to severely acidic soil similar to actual acid sulfate soil and that the lime placed on the land prior to deposition of the spoils, and later ploughed into the dry dredge spoils, was insufficient to halt this process. Hence, future dredging and deposition of dredge spoils containing metal sulfides should not only take into account the amount of lime used for buffering but also its grain size and mixing into the soil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Johnson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden.
| | - Eva Högfors-Rönnholm
- Research and Development, Novia University of Applied Sciences, FI-65200 Vaasa, Finland.
| | - Sten Engblom
- Research and Development, Novia University of Applied Sciences, FI-65200 Vaasa, Finland.
| | - Peter Österholm
- Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20500 Turku, Finland.
| | - Mats Åström
- Biology and Environmental Sciences, Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden.
| | - Mark Dopson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, SE-39231 Kalmar, Sweden.
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