Water-stable aggregation and organic matter stabilisation by native plant Acacia auriculiformis in an early Technosol eco-engineered from Fe-ore tailings

Zhen Li; Songlin Wu; Yunjia Liu; Lars Thomsen; Fang You; Junjian Wang; Yuanfang Huang; Longbin Huang

Soil & Environmental Health (Nov 2024)

Water-stable aggregation and organic matter stabilisation by native plant Acacia auriculiformis in an early Technosol eco-engineered from Fe-ore tailings

Zhen Li,
Songlin Wu,
Yunjia Liu,
Lars Thomsen,
Fang You,
Junjian Wang,
Yuanfang Huang,
Longbin Huang

Affiliations

Zhen Li: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Songlin Wu: Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Corresponding author. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
Yunjia Liu: Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Lars Thomsen: Australian Synchrotron, ANSTO, Melbourne, Victoria 3168, Australia
Fang You: Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
Junjian Wang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Yuanfang Huang: College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Longbin Huang: Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; Corresponding author. Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 2, no. 4
p. 100115

Abstract

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Ecological engineering of Fe-ore tailings into Technosols (or soil-like growth media) offers a promising way to rehabilitate tailings without resorting to natural topsoil from other places. Among key pedogenic processes, soil aggregate formation and organic matter (OM) stabilisation are critical to the development of sustainable Technosols. The colonisation of pioneer plant species highly adaptive to infertile soils and water deficit may act as competent biological drivers to enhance these critical processes involved in Technosol formation. This study aimed to investigate the role of an Australian native plant species, Acacia auriculiformis, in enhancing water-stable aggregate formation and associated OM stabilisation using a pot experiment under glasshouse conditions. The influences of two relevant abiotic processes, including water deficit and phosphorus deficiency, on these key processes were evaluated. A. auriculiformis colonisation enhanced the formation of water-stable aggregates in the early Technosols, while the proportion of macroaggregates and microaggregates were altered differently, with the former increasing under well-watered conditions and the latter increasing under water deficit conditions. A. auriculiformis colonisation increased N-rich mineral-associated OM within the macroaggregates. In aggregates, OM stabilisation was related to interactions of carboxyl-rich organic groups with tailing minerals. The influences of water deficit and phosphorus deficiency on aggregate formation and OM stabilisation were mediated via their impacts on the growth and root functions of A. auriculiformis, including root extension, entanglement, and exudation. From these findings, the utilisation of A. auriculiformis is recommended as a biological driver to facilitate the development of early Technosols from eco-engineered Fe-ore tailings.

Published in Soil & Environmental Health

ISSN: 2949-9194 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences; Medicine: Public aspects of medicine
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/soil-and-environmental-health

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