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Title: MICROBIAL BIOMARKERS AS AN INDICATOR OF ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY FOLLOWING SURFACE MINE RECLAMATION

Author
item MUMMEY, DANIEL - UNIV. WYOMING
item STAHL, PETER - UNIV.WYOMING
item Buyer, Jeffrey

Submitted to: Applied Soil Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/24/2002
Publication Date: 10/1/2002
Citation: MUMMEY, D.L., STAHL, P.D., BUYER, J.S. MICROBIAL BIOMARKERS AS AN INDICATOR OF ECOSYSTEM RECOVERY FOLLOWING SURFACE MINE RECLAMATION. APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY. 21:251-259. 2002.

Interpretive Summary: The ultimate goal of surface mine reclamation is to restore the ecological integrity of these disturbed systems. Reclamation is accomplished by removing topsoil before mining and stockpiling the soil until mining operations are completed. Stored soil is then spread and seeded with native plant species. In this study two sites, one reclaimed in 1982 and another reclaimed in 1996, were compared to an adjacent undisturbed ecosystem thought to be representative of pre-disturbance conditions. Soil fatty acid biomarkers for total microbial biomass, fungi, and bacteria were analyzed. The amounts of the biomarkers were greatly impacted by disturbance. Discriminant analysis of the biomarkers was clearly able to differentiate between all three sites. However, the undisturbed site was more similar to the site reclaimed in 1982 than the site reclaimed in 1996, indicating a trend towards the undisturbed condition with time after reclamation. This method appears to be a relatively easy and useful technique for monitoring soil microbial community recovery during reclamation.

Technical Abstract: Increased disturbance of terrestrial ecosystems in recent years for purposes of mineral extraction has created interest in development and optimization of reclamation methodologies for these lands. Currently, criteria for judging surface mine reclamation success, or progress toward reclamation goals, predominantly rely on aboveground indicators that fail to account for the abundance and composition of soil microbiota, an essential aspect of soil health. To test the utility of FAME biomarkers as indicators of reclamation progress, FAME bacterial, fungal, and total biomass biomarkers extracted from soil of surface mine reclamation sites of different ages and an adjacent undisturbed site were compared with other indicators of reclamation progress and ecosystem stability. Our results indicate that amounts of FAME microbial biomarkers and SOM were greatly impacted by disturbance. Discriminant analysis of FAME bacterial, fungal and total microbial biomass biomarkers, although clearly able to discriminate between disturbed and undisturbed ecosystems, indicated a trend towards the undisturbed condition with reclamation age. The ratio of FAME bacterial to fungal biomarkers reflected changes in other indicators of soil health (SOM, inorganic N concentration), suggesting tht this ratio is a useful indicator of reclamation progress.