Elaboration of a Phytoremediation Strategy for Successful and Sustainable Rehabilitation of Disturbed and Degraded Land

Humans are dependent upon soil which supplies food, fuel, chemicals, medicine, sequesters pollutants, purifies and conveys water, and supports the built environment. In short, we need soil, but it has little or no need of us. Agriculture, mining, urbanization and other human activities result in temporary land-use and once complete, used and degraded land should be rehabilitated and restored to minimize loss of soil carbon. It is generally accepted that the most effective strategy is phyto-remediation. Typically, phytoremediation involves re-invigoration of soil fertility, physicochemical properties, and its microbiome to facilitate establishment of appropriate climax cover vegetation. A myco-phytoremediation technology called Fungcoal was developed in South Africa to achieve these outcomes for land disturbed by coal mining. Here we outline the contemporary and expanded rationale that underpins Fungcoal, which relies on in situ bio-conversion of carbonaceous waste coal or discard, in order to explore the probable origin of humic substances (HS) and soil organic matter (SOM). To achieve this, microbial processing of low-grade coal and discard, including bio-liquefaction and bio-conversion, is examined in some detail. The significance, origin, structure, and mode of action of coal-derived humics are recounted to emphasize the dynamic equilibrium, that is, humification and the derivation of soil organic matter (SOM). The contribution of plant exudate, extracellular vesicles (EV), extra polymeric substances (EPS), and other small molecules as components of the dynamic equilibrium that sustains SOM is highlighted. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), saprophytic ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are considered essential microbial biocatalysts that provide mutualistic support to sustain plant growth following soil reclamation and restoration. Finally, we posit that de novo synthesis of SOM is by specialized microbial consortia (or ‘humifiers’) which use molecular components from the root metabolome; and, that combinations of functional biocatalyst act to re-establish and maintain the soil dynamic. It is concluded that a bio-scaffold is necessary for functional phytoremediation including maintenance of the SOM dynamic and overall biogeochemistry of organic carbon in the global ecosyste

Elaboration of a Phytoremediation Strategy for Successful and Sustainable Rehabilitation of Disturbed and Degraded Land

Humans are dependent upon soil which supplies food, fuel, chemicals, medicine, sequesters pollutants, purifies and conveys water, and supports the built environment. In short, we need soil, but it has little or no need of us. Agriculture, mining, urbanization and other human activities result in temporary land-use and once complete, used and degraded land should be rehabilitated and restored to minimize loss of soil carbon. It is generally accepted that the most effective strategy is phyto-remediation. Typically, phytoremediation involves re-invigoration of soil fertility, physicochemical properties, and its microbiome to facilitate establishment of appropriate climax cover vegetation. A myco-phytoremediation technology called Fungcoal was developed in South Africa to achieve these outcomes for land disturbed by coal mining. Here we outline the contemporary and expanded rationale that underpins Fungcoal, which relies on in situ bio-conversion of carbonaceous waste coal or discard, in order to explore the probable origin of humic substances (HS) and soil organic matter (SOM). To achieve this, microbial processing of low-grade coal and discard, including bio-liquefaction and bio-conversion, is examined in some detail. The significance, origin, structure, and mode of action of coal-derived humics are recounted to emphasize the dynamic equilibrium, that is, humification and the derivation of soil organic matter (SOM). The contribution of plant exudate, extracellular vesicles (EV), extra polymeric substances (EPS), and other small molecules as components of the dynamic equilibrium that sustains SOM is highlighted. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), saprophytic ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are considered essential microbial biocatalysts that provide mutualistic support to sustain plant growth following soil reclamation and restoration. Finally, we posit that de novo synthesis of SOM is by specialized microbial consortia (or ‘humifiers’) which use molecular components from the root metabolome; and, that combinations of functional biocatalyst act to re-establish and maintain the soil dynamic. It is concluded that a bio-scaffold is necessary for functional phytoremediation including maintenance of the SOM dynamic and overall biogeochemistry of organic carbon in the global ecosyste

Coal-Degrading Bacteria Display Characteristics Typical of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

Coal mining produces large quantities of discard that is stockpiled in large dumps. This stockpiled material, termed coal discard, poses an environmental threat emphasising the need for appropriate bioremediation. Here, metagenomic analysis of the 16S rRNA from ten coal-degrading strains previously isolated from coal slurry from discard dumps and from the rhizosphere of diesel-contaminated sites was used to establish genetic relatedness to known plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria in the NCBI database. Measurement of indole and ammonium production and solubilisation of P and K were used to screen bacteria for PGP characteristics. BLAST analysis revealed ≥ 99% homology of six isolates with reference PGP strains of Bacillus, Escherichia, Citrobacter, Serratia, Exiguobacterium and Microbacterium, while two strains showed 94% and 91% homology with Proteus. The most competent PGP strains were Proteus strain ECCN 20b, Proteus strain ECCN 23b and Serratia strain ECCN 24b isolated from diesel-contaminated soil. In response to L-trp supplementation, the concentration of indolic compounds (measured as indole-3-acetic acid) increased. Production of ammonium and solubilisation of insoluble P by these strains was also apparent. Only Serratia strain ECCN 24b was capable of solubilising insoluble K. Production of indoles increased following exposure to increasing aliquots of coal discard, suggesting no negative effect of this material on indole production by these coal-degrading bacterial isolates and that these bacteria may indeed possess PGP characteristics