| dc.description.abstract | Increased amounts of pesticide production and application of pesticides for agriculture,
plant protection and animal health has resulted in soil, water and air pollution,
consequently relating a serious risk to the environment and also to human health.
Pesticides include several groups of compounds, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides and fumigants consisting of several hundred individual chemicals. Herbicides are an integral pan of modem agriculture and for industries requiring total vegetation control. Most herbicides are soil applied and more and more concern is raised that herbicides not only affect target organisms but also the microbial community present in soil. The ESKOM sub-station Zeus, in Mpumalanga (South Africa) used to apply an industrial weed control program for the eradication of vegetation, which led to the contamination of soil by several herbicides. These herbicides consisted of Bromacil, Tebuthiuron and Ethidimuron which are all photosynthesis inhibitors, more specifically, they disrupt the plastoquinone protein during electron transport at photosystem ll (PSII). In this study the effect of biostimulation and bio-augmentation of a specific bioremediation agent (B350) as prescribed by ESKOM, on residual herbicides, Bromacil, Tebuthiuron and Ethidimuron was evaluated by monitoring the soil physical and chemical properties, microbial attributes, including potential microbial activity and community structure, as well as the physiological effect experienced by plants (Cynodoh dactylon and Zea mays). Results from soil physical and chemical analyses were correlated with results obtained for the functional and structural diversity of microbial communities. All results were investigated
through statistical and multivariate analysis and the most prominent soil physical and
chemical parameters that influence the biological and biochemical properties of the soil were identified. Results obtained from this study indicated that there were no significant difference (p < 0.05) between the treatments, with bioremediation agent, irradiated agent and without the agent based on results obtained from soil microbial properties and plant physiology. Before the trial started the uncontaminated soil showed an active microbial function, characterised by dehydrogenase, urease and arylsulphatase activity, but community structure was not very diverse. The contaminated soil, irradiated contaminated
soil and silica sand showed less enzymatic function and was characterised by
phospholipid fatty acid groups, mid-branched saturated fatty acids, terminally branched saturated fatty acids, normal saturated fatty acids and monosaturated fatty acids which are indicative of microorganisms that survive better in harsh environments. Three weeks after the addition of the specific bioremediation took place, the uncontaminated soil showed an
increase in P-glucosidase activity and percentage organic carbon (%C), which could be a result of the presence of available plant material. Furthermore, an increase in major PLFA groups were seen, suggesting that an increase in diversity within the soil community occurred. The contaminated soil, irradiated contaminated soil and silica sand once again was characterised by a low microbial function and diversity, showing no improvement. Fluorescence data clearly show a decline in PS ll function that result in the decline of the rate of photosynthesis, which was seen from COz gas exchange rates. Furthermore, the decrease in photosynthetic activity after three weeks was too severe to supply additional information about the mechanism within photosynthesis or the photoprotective mechanisms. A detailed study was conducted in which a 3: 1 dilution of contaminated soil with silica sand, was also monitored for changes within plant physiology. Results revealed that inhibition of PS ll function already takes place within a few days time and the decline in photosynthesis is as a result of electron transport that does not supply adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) and P-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADPH) to the Calvin
cycle (or Reductive Pentose Phosphate pathway). It does not appear that rubulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) is affected within the Calvin cycle. As a result of PS II function failure, reaction centres are damaged by the production of harmful singlet oxygen and photoprotective mechanisms (xanthophyll cycle) can not be activated. Thus, except for dealing with ineffective electron transport, additional damage is caused to physiological functions. After six weeks a decrease in the estimated viable biomass for all growth mediums was found. Results of the of trans- to cis- monoenoic fatty acids and cyclopropyl fatty acids to their monoenoic precursors ratios indicated that the soil microbial community for the contaminated growth mediums, all experienced nutritional stress throughout this trail. The specific bioremediation agent (B350) used, seemed to have no effect on the microbial function and community structure within soil and as agent had no effect on the residual herbicides or the plant physiology which experienced an extreme decline in major metabolic functions. | |
