Influence of biochars on the accessibility of organochlorine pesticides and microbial community in contaminated soils

Neelum Ali; Sardar Khan; Yaying Li; Ningguo Zheng; Huaiying Yao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.425

Influence of biochars on the accessibility of organochlorine pesticides and microbial community in contaminated soils

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Jan 10:647:551-560. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.425. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

Authors

Neelum Ali¹, Sardar Khan², Yaying Li³, Ningguo Zheng⁴, Huaiying Yao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, People's Republic of China; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan.
² Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, People's Republic of China; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan. Electronic address: sardar.khan2008@yahoo.com.
³ Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: yyli@iue.ac.cn.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: hyyao@iue.ac.cn.

PMID: 30089277
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.425

Abstract

Biochar can be used as a promising potential substance to reduce the availability of toxic elements and compounds in contaminated soils but its effects on the accessibility of pesticides and microbiological interactions still remain unclear. Here, 65 day incubation experiments were conducted to investigate the efficacy of biochars on the accessibility of 21 different organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and also to evaluate their influence on soil microbial community. The tested soil was collected from an agricultural field, containing loamy sand texture, and historically contaminated with high concentrations of OCPs. The soil was amended with four different kinds of biochars: sewage sludge biochar (SSBC), peanut shells biochar (PNBC), rice straw biochar (RSBC), and soybean straw biochar (SBBC). The results indicated that biochar-amendments had strong effects upon OCP accessibility over time and can act as super sorbent. Despite greater persistence of OCPs in soil, the application of selected biochars significantly (p < 0.01) reduced the accessibility of ∑OCPs in the amended soil in the order of SSBC (8-69%), PNBC (11-75%), RSBC (6-67%), and SBBC (14-86%), as compared to the control soil during 0-65 d incubation period. Moreover, the findings from total phospholipid acid (PLFA) and Illumina next-generation sequencing revealed that the incorporation of biochar have altered the soil microbial community structure over time. Higher abundances of Proteobacteria, firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, and Actinobacteria were found in biochar amendments. However, the relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi decreased, following biochar addition. The findings of these experiments suggest that biochar addition to soil at the rate of 3% (w/w) could be advantageous for decreasing accessibility of OCPs, enhancing the soil microbial communities, and their subsequent risk to environment and food chain contamination.

Keywords: Biochar; Contaminated soil; Microbial abundance; Next-generation sequencing; Pesticides accessibility; Total PLFA.