Effects of eutrophic water flooding on nitrate concentrations in mine wastes

Salt marshes near urban, industrial and mining areas are often affected both by heavy metals and by eutrophic water. The aim of this study was to assess and evaluate the main processes involved in the decrease of nitrate concentration in pore water of mine wastes flooded with eutrophic water, considering the presence or absence of plant rhizhosphere. Basic (pH ∼ 7.8) carbonated loam mine wastes and free carbonated acidic (pH ∼ 6.2) sandy-loam mine wastes were collected from polluted coastal salt marshes of SE Spain which regularly receive nutrient-enriched water. The wastes were put in pots and flooded for 15weeks with eutrophic water (dissolved organic carbon ∼26 mg L−1, PO4 3− ∼23 mg L−1, NO3− ∼180 mg L−1). Three treatments were assayed for each type of waste: pots withSarcocornia fruticosa, pots withPhragmites australis and unvegetated pots. Soluble organic carbon, nitrate, soluble Cd, Pb and Zn, pH and Eh were monitored. But the 2nd day of flooding, nitrate concentrations had decreased between 70% and 90% (equivalent to 1.01–1.12 g N-NO3 − m−2 day−1) with respect to the content in the water used for flooding, except in unvegetated pots with acidic wastes. Denitrification was the main mechanism associated with the removal of nitrate. The role of vegetation in improving the rhizospheric environment was relevant in the acidic wastes because higher sand content, lower pH and higher soluble metal concentrations might strongly hinder microbial activity Hence, revegetation of salt marshes polluted by acidic sandy mining wastes might improve the capacity of this type of environment to act as a green filter against excessive nitrate contents flowing through them.

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González Alcaraz M.N. Egea C. Cervantes A.M. Jiménez Cárceles F.J. y Álvarez Rogel J. Effects of eutrophic water flooding on nitrate concentrations in mine wastes. Elsevier B.V., 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2010.02.009

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Resource type Article
Date of creation 2024-11-05
Date of last revision 2024-11-05
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Metadata identifier a720b368-f39f-538d-95fd-bd7e674fd712
Metadata language Spanish
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High-value dataset category Earth observation and environment
ISO 19115 topic category biota
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Name of the dataset creator González Alcaraz, M.N., Egea, C., Cervantes, A.M., Jiménez Cárceles, F.J. y Álvarez Rogel, J.
Name of the dataset editor Elsevier B.V.
Other identifier DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2010.02.009
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Email of the dataset creator nazaret.gonzalez@upct.es
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