The cultivation of aromatic plants for the extraction of essential oils has been presented as an innovative and economically viable alternative for the remediation of areas polluted with trace elements (TE). Therefore, this study focuses on the contribution of the cultivation of coriander and the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in combination with mineral amendments (steel slag) on the bacterial function of the rhizosphere, an aspect that is currently poorly understood and studied. The introduction of soil amendments, such as steel slag or mycorrhizal inoculum, had no significant effect on coriander growth. However, steel slag changed the structure of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere without affecting microbial function. In fact, Actinobacteria were significantly less abundant under slag-amended conditions, while the relative proportion of Gemmatimonadota increased. On the other hand, the planting of coriander affects the bacterial community structure and significantly increased the bacterial functional richness of the amended soil. Overall, these results show that planting coriander most affected the structure and functioning of bacterial communities in the TE-polluted soils and reversed the effects of mineral amendments on rhizosphere bacterial communities and their activities. This study highlights the potential of coriander, especially in combination with steel slag, for phytomanagement of TE-polluted soils, by improving soil quality and health.
Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; coriander; phytomanagement; steel slag; trace elements.