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Re-vegetation of mining wastes is difficult due to the inhospitable conditions for plant growth. Our aim was to determine whether the combined addition of municipal waste compost and plant growth promoting endophytes (i.e., microorganisms that live within plants) could improve plant growth, organic matter accumulation, and phytostabilization of metal contaminants across multiple types of hard rock mine waste. We grew a widespread perennial grass, Bouteloua curtipendula, for 45 days in tailings (Ag-Pb-Au mine) and waste rock (porphyry copper mine) sourced from southeastern Arizona, USA. We quantified organic matter accumulation, microbial biomass, plant growth rates, biomass yields, plant metal concentrations, and...
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The legacy of mining exploration and operations can remain for decades to centuries if not treated, posing risks to human and animal health due to fugitive dispersal of metal(loid) laden dust and water. The use of endemic plants is key to the success of phytostabilization because endemics are adapted to the conditions prevailing in local mine sites. To this end, we evaluated the phytostabilization potential of endemic plant populations growing at two unmined mineralized sites and on metallic wastes at two historic mine operations and two sites un-impacted by mining operations within the Harshaw Mining District in southern Arizona. Included in this dataset are the physical (pH, Electrical Conductivity, total carbon...
Categories: Data;
Tags: Arizona,
Ecology,
Harshaw,
Mineral Resources,
Patagonia, All tags...
Soil Sciences,
USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC),
biota,
geochemistry,
metallic mineral resources,
toxic trace element contamination, Fewer tags
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Phytostabilization reduces the mobility of inorganic contaminants by establishing or enhancing plant growth. For small, remote, or abandoned mines, phytostabilization may reduce potential environmental hazards—provided plants can establish and grow. We grew a widespread perennial grass, Bouteloua curtipendula, in mining wastes with and without soil (compost, lime) and microbial amendments (endophyte seed coats) to determine whether we could improve plant establishment and growth. This data collection has four associated data releases: the physical elemental, and geochemical characteristics of the mining wastes and soil amendments; the laboratory environmental conditions during the growth of Bouteloua curtipendula...
Tags: Arizona,
Environmental Health,
Geochemistry,
Mineral Resources,
Soil Sciences, All tags...
USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC),
bioremediation,
carbon cycling,
carbon isotope analysis,
contaminant transport,
environment,
metallic mineral resources,
phytostabilization,
vegetation, Fewer tags
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A 45-day mesocosom experiment was conducted to determine how well a perennial grass species (Bouteloua curtipendula) grew in mining wastes from southeastern Arizona. The experiment tested whether the addition of an endophyte seed coat combined with a top dressing of compost improved grass growth, organic matter accumulation, and metal stabilization in the mining wastes (i.e., phytostabilization). The mining wastes were sourced from two formerly active hard rock mines: waste rock from a porphyry copper open pit mine and tailings from a tunnel and shaft polymetallic mine. The plants were grown for 45 days in an indoor growing complex. These data give the environmental conditions of the indoor growing complex (light,...
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Re-vegetation of land impacted by mining can be difficult due to physical and geochemical characteristics of mining wastes that restrict plant growth. We characterized the following mining wastes source from southeast Arizona: polymetallic tailings from the Endless Chain mine; polymetallic tailings from the Blue Nose mine; and porphyry copper waste rock from the Bisbee Coalition mines. We also characterized soil amendments commonly used in mine reclamation: a municipal waste compost and dolomite lime. Included in this dataset are mine waste and soil amendment physical characteristics (pH, water holding capacity, texture, surface area), organic matter content (organic and inorganic carbon, salt-extractable carbon,...
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