Biochars reduced the bioaccessibility and (bio)uptake of organochlorine pesticides and changed the microbial community dynamics in agricultural soils

Neelum Ali; Sardar Khan; Huaiying Yao; Juan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.02.163

Biochars reduced the bioaccessibility and (bio)uptake of organochlorine pesticides and changed the microbial community dynamics in agricultural soils

Chemosphere. 2019 Jun:224:805-815. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.02.163. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Authors

Neelum Ali¹, Sardar Khan², Huaiying Yao³, Juan Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, 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, 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, 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; Research Center for Environmental Ecology and Engineering, School of Environmental Ecology and Biological Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430073, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: hyyao@iue.ac.cn.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station-NUEORS, 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.

PMID: 30851532
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.02.163

Abstract

Biochar is considered as a universal sorbent used for soil amendment but its impacts on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and microbial communities associated with soil and vegetables are unclear. The effects of different biochars (derived from sewage sludge biochar (SSBC), soybean straw biochar (SBBC), rice straw biochar (RSBC) and peanut shells biochar (PNBC)), on bioaccessible fractions of OCPs in a contaminated soil and their subsequent bioaccumulation into vegetables (Chinese cabbage and spring onion) were investigated in this research work. The influence of these amendments on vegetable yields and soil microbial community using Illumina next generation sequencing technology was also assessed. The application of selected biochars significantly (p < 0.01) reduced the bioaccessibility of ∑OCPs in contaminated soil: SSBC (52%), PNBC (51%), RSBC (60%), and SBBC (47%), as compared to the control. The results indicated that following biochar additions, the bio-uptake of ∑OCP bio-uptake was considerably (from 86 to 85%) reduced in grown vegetables. Risk assessment showed that biochar amendments markedly (p < 0.01) decreased the hazard quotient (HQ) indices and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILTR) values for OCPs associated with the consumption of vegetables. In addition, the results of high-throughput sequencing showed significant differences in microbial community structure between the treatments, which was driven by differences in the relative abundances of soil microbes. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Nitrospirae and Verrucomicrobia decreased following biochar additions. However, biochar amendments increased the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Gemmatimonadetes, though the increase in relative abundances of these phyla was strongly dependent on the type of biochar used.

Keywords: Bioaccessible fractions; Biochar; Contaminated soil; Human health; Microbial community; Organochlorine pesticides.

MeSH terms

Agriculture / methods
Arachis / metabolism
Bacteria / drug effects
Bacteria / growth & development*
Bacteria / metabolism
Charcoal / metabolism*
Environmental Pollution / analysis*
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / analysis*
Microbiota
Oryza / metabolism
Pesticides / analysis*
Sewage / chemistry
Soil / chemistry*
Soil Microbiology
Soil Pollutants / analysis*
Vegetables

Substances

Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated
Pesticides
Sewage
Soil
Soil Pollutants
biochar
Charcoal