Phytoremediation and microbial community structure of soil from a metal-contaminated military shooting range: Comparisons of field and pot experiments

Abstract

In this study, the heavy metal uptake ability of two plant species, barnyard grass and Indian mallow, and the effects of associated micro-communities on the rhizosphere of these plants were investigated in metal-contaminated sites. In addition, the effectiveness of phytoremediation using these plants was compared under field and pot conditions. To accomplish this analysis, phytoremediation of general military shooting range soil was conducted for 8 weeks under the two conditions. The results showed that metal uptake by plants and reductions in soil metal concentration were lower in the field than in pots. However, soil dehydrogenase activities and microbial diversity increased in response to phytoremediation in the field. Specifically, the soil dehydrogenase activities of barnyard grass in field soils were 3-fold higher than those of potted soils. Moreover, the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis patterns revealed that groups formed according to plant species. Finally, the Shannon-Weaver diversity index and Simpson dominance index were higher in the rhizosphere of barnyard grass than in the rhizosphere of Indian mallow under field conditions. These results indicate that it is difficult to apply the results obtained from pot experiments to field conditions. These findings can be used to inform future studies conducted to determine if field sites are suitable for phytoremediation based on the results of pot studies.