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Soil microbial respiration and PICT responses to an industrial and historic lead pollution: a field study

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Abstract

We performed a field investigation to study the long-term impacts of Pb soil contamination on soil microbial communities and their catabolic structure in the context of an industrial site consisting of a plot of land surrounding a secondary lead smelter. Microbial biomass, catabolic profiles, and ecotoxicological responses (PICT) were monitored on soils sampled at selected locations along 110-m transects established on the site. We confirmed the high toxicity of Pb on respirations and microbial and fungal biomasses by measuring positive correlations with distance from the wall factory and negative correlation with total Pb concentrations. Pb contamination also induced changes in microbial and fungal catabolic structure (from carbohydrates to amino acids through carboxylic malic acid). Moreover, PICT measurement allowed to establish causal linkages between lead and its effect on biological communities taking into account the contamination history of the ecosystem at community level. The positive correlation between qCO2 (based on respiration and substrate use) and PICT suggested that the Pb stress-induced acquisition of tolerance came at a greater energy cost for microbial communities in order to cope with the toxicity of the metal. In this industrial context of long-term polymetallic contamination dominated by Pb in a field experiment, we confirmed impacts of this metal on soil functioning through microbial communities, as previously observed for earthworm communities.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge ADEME (French Agency of the Environment and Energy) as well as the company STCM (Société de Traitements Chimiques des Métaux) for their technical help and financial support. This work was also supported by the INSU-EC2CO program (Biotuba Project). We thank G. Sévenier for his technical support. The text was language-edited by ATT (an ISO 9001:2008-certified technical and scientific translation and editing services company).

Compliance with ethical standards

The reported work in this paper submitted for publication in the journal “Environmental Science and Pollution Research” is an original one and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere.

The consent of all the authors of this paper has been obtained for submitting the paper to the journal “Environmental Science and Pollution Research”.

Conflict of interest

Annette Bérard declares that she has no conflict of interest

Line Capowiez declares that she has no conflict of interest

Stéphane Mombo declares that he has no conflict of interest

Eva Schreck declares that she has no conflict of interest

Camille Dumat declares that she has no conflict of interest

Frédéric Deola declares that she has no conflict of interest

Yvan Capowiez declares that he has no conflict of interest

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UMR1114 EMMAH, 84914, Avignon, France

    Annette Bérard & Line Capowiez

  2. UAPV, UMR1114 EMMAH, 84914, Avignon, France

    Annette Bérard & Line Capowiez

  3. Université de Toulouse, INP-ENSAT, Av. de l’Agrobiopôle, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Stéphane Mombo

  4. UMR 5245 CNRS-INP-UPS, EcoLab (Laboratoire d’écologie Fonctionnelle), 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Stéphane Mombo

  5. Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 avenue E. Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Eva Schreck

  6. Université de Toulouse, INP-ENSAT, Av. de l’Agrobiopôle, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Camille Dumat

  7. Certop, UMR5044-Centre d’Etude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir, 31000, Toulouse, France

    Camille Dumat

  8. STCM, Société de Traitements Chimiques des Métaux, 30 Avenue Fondeyre, 31200, Toulouse, France

    Frédéric Deola

  9. UR 1115 INRA PSH, 84914, Avignon, France

    Yvan Capowiez

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  1. Annette Bérard
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  2. Line Capowiez
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  3. Stéphane Mombo
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  4. Eva Schreck
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  5. Camille Dumat
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  7. Yvan Capowiez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Annette Bérard.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Research highlights

-PICT-assays with FungiResp technique to assess metal impact on soil microbial communities

-PICT observed in a long-term field study with high-Pb soil contamination gradient

-Long-term metal contamination induced a shift in catabolic structure

-Metabolic quotient increased with pollution-induced community tolerance

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Bérard, A., Capowiez, L., Mombo, S. et al. Soil microbial respiration and PICT responses to an industrial and historic lead pollution: a field study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 4271–4281 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5089-z

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