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A double strategy based on the removal of sulfonamide antibiotics by Pleurotus ostreatus and adsorption on spent mushroom substrate was assessed to reclaim contaminated wastewater. P. ostreatus was firstly tested in a liquid medium fortified with five sulfonamides: sulfamethoxazole, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine and sulfamethazine, to evaluate its capacity to remove them and to test for any adverse effects on fungal growth and for any reduction in residual antibiotic activity. P. ostreatus was effective in removing sulfonamides up to 83 to 91% of the applied doses over 14 days. The antibiotic activity of the sulfonamide residues was reduced by 50%. Sulfamethoxazole transformation products by laccase were identified, and the degradation pathway was proposed. In addition, P. ostreatus growth on a semi-solid medium of spent mushroom substrate and malt extract agar was used to develop a biofilter for the removal of sulfonamides from real wastewater. The biofilter was able to remove more than 90% of the sulfonamide concentrations over 24 h by combining adsorption and biodegradation mechanisms.

The soil microbial activity, biomass and structure were evaluated in an unamended (S) and organically amended soil treated with two commercial formulations of the herbicides chlorotoluron (Erturon®) and flufenacet plus diflufenican (Herold®) under field conditions. Soils were amended with spent mushroom substrate (SMS) or green compost (GC). Soil microbial dehydrogenase activity (DHA), biomass and structure determined by the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles were recorded at 0, 45, 145, 229 and 339 days after herbicide treatment. The soil DHA values steadily decreased over time in the unamended soil treated with the herbicides, while microbial activity was constant in the amended soils. The amended soils recorded higher values of concentrations of PLFAs. Total soil microbial biomass decreased over time regardless of the organic amendment or the herbicide. Herbicide application sharply decreased the microbial population, with a significant modification of the microbial structure in the unamended soil. In contrast, no significant differences in microbial biomass and structure were detected in S + SMS and S + GC, untreated or treated with herbicides. The application of SMS and GC led to a significant shift in the soil microbial community regardless of the herbicides. The use of SMS and GC as organic amendments had a certain buffer effect on soil DHA and microbial biomass and structure after herbicide application due to the higher adsorption capacity of herbicides by the amended soils.

Microorganisms strongly influence and are required to generate the selective substrate that provides nutrients and support for fungal growth, and ultimately to induce mushroom fructification under controlled environmental conditions. In this work, the fungal and bacterial microbiota living in the different substrates employed in a commercial crop (compost phase I, II and III, flush 1 and 2, and casing material on day 1, 6 and 8 after compost casing and during flush 1 and 2) have been characterized along the different stages of cultivation by metataxonomic analysis (16S rRNA and ITS2), analysis of phospholipid fatty acid content (PLFAs) and RT-qPCR. Additionally, laccase activity and the content of lignin and complex carbohydrates in compost and casing have been quantified. The bacterial diversity in compost and casing increased throughout the crop cycle boosted by the connection of both substrates. As reflected by the PLFAs, the total living bacterial biomass appears to be negatively correlated with the mycelium of the crop. Agaricus bisporus was the dominant fungal species in colonized substrates, displacing the pre-eminent Ascomycota, accompanied by a sustained increase in laccase activity, which is considered to be a major product of protein synthesis during the mycelial growth of champignon. From phase II onwards, the metabolic machinery of the fungal crop degrades lignin and carbohydrates in compost, while these components are hardly degraded in casing, which reflects the minor role of the casing for nourishing the crop. The techniques employed in this study provide a holistic and detailed characterization of the changing microbial composition in commercial champignon substrates. The knowledge generated will contribute to improve compost formulations (selection of base materials) and accelerate compost production, for instance, through biotechnological interventions in the form of tailored biostimulants and to design environmentally sustainable bio-based casing

This paper reports the mobility and total balance of chlorotoluron (CTL), flufenacet (FNC) and bromide ion (Br−) throughout a sandy soil profile after the application of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and green compost (GC). Obtaining mobility dataset is crucial to simulate the herbicides' fate under amended soil scenarios by application pesticide leaching models with regulatory application (FOCUS models). The application of organic residues is nowadays increased to improve the crop yields and there is a gap in the simulations of this kind of amended scenarios. A two-year field experiment involving unamended soil (S) and SMS- or GC-amended soil plots was conducted. CTL, FNC, and Br− were annually applied and their residual concentrations were determined in soil profiles (0–100 cm) regularly sampled. In all the treatments the order of mobility is followed as FNC < CTL < Br−. SMS and GC increased herbicide retention in the top 10 cm by the higher organic carbon (OC) content than the unamended soil, and their ability to increase the soil's water-holding capacity and to decrease water percolation. Simultaneously dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content facilitated herbicide transport being it favoured by the initial soil moisture content and the rainfall shortly after the chemicals' initial application. Over the first year, residual amounts (<2.6%) of Br−, CTL and FNC were leached down to 90–100 cm depth in the three treatments. However, over the second year low CTL and FNC amounts (<1.0%) reached the bottom layer only in S + SMS although high Br− concentrations did so in the three treatments (<20%). According to the total balance of Br−, CTL, and FNC in the soil profiles other processes (degradation, mineralisation, bound residues formation, and/or crop uptake) different from leaching below 1 m depth might play a key role in their dissipation especially in the amended soil profiles. SMS and GC are likely to be used as organic amendments to preserve the soil and water qua

One strategy to re-use solid urban wastes is the production of energy by anaerobic digestion. This process also generates high volume of digestates, which are frequently disposal in landfills. The aim of this work is to assess anaerobic digestates as agricultural inputs. Three different biomethanation wastes from different plants were collected. Firstly, a complete physico-chemical characterization of the wastes was done according to the Spanish regulation, showing that the materials had the 90% of the particles below 25 mm, high values of pH, electric conductivity, organic matter, humic acids and soluble nutrients such as NO3−, SO42−, Ca2+, Mg2+, PO43− and K+. Total concentrations of heavy metals and microbiological parameters were below the threshold levels allowed for agricultural use. The wastes were then treated with a strong acid and a strong base having two different solutions (ATr and BTr, respectively) which were evaluated as biostimulants for tomato plants in hydroponic culture. Those liquid extracts, ATr and BTr, demonstrated their biostimulant ability towards root system of tomato enhancing the hair root density and plant biometric parameters including plants weight and chlorophyll content. This work demonstrates the re-use feasibility of treated digestates in agriculture as fertilizers and more over as feedstock for biostimulants production.

The spread of organic pollutants from soil to other environments is one important source of environmental pollution. The addition of organic amendments to soil is an interesting strategy to control pollutants leaching. However, the contribution of different carbon types of organic amendments to organic pollutants adsorption is not clear. Hence, the objective of this work was to determine the role of carbon types of organic amendments into the adsorption of four herbicides. To this extent, organic amendments were characterized by elemental analysis and 13C-NMR and adsorption–desorption isotherms of herbicides by the organic amendments and two soils amended with them were obtained. Adsorption coefficients were correlated with the organic carbon content of the organic amendments and the adsorption process was enhanced by the hydrophobicity of herbicides and the aliphatic and aromatic carbon of amendments. Organic amendments increased the adsorption of herbicides by soils but it is not possible to extrapolate results from one soil to another because organo-mineral interactions between soils and organic amendments can modify this process. Desorption isotherms of herbicides from organic amendments and/or amended soils presented hysteresis indicating the irreversible adsorption of herbicides. Desorption results indicated, the abundance of O-alkyl and N-alkyl groups in organic amendments enhanced the hysteresis in amended soils

[BACKGROUND] Nowadays a significant amount of land contaminated with toxic elements is being used for agriculture, posing a serious risk of crop contamination and toxicity. Several methodologies are being used to remediate soil contamination, including the use of amendments such as biochar. This work evaluated the effects of biochar combined with different fertirrigations (water, a conventional fertilizer solution, or a fertilizer solution with a commercial biostimulant derived from leonardite) on the availability of toxic elements and nutrients for pepper cultivated in a soil contaminated with As, Cd, Pb, and Zn., [RESULTS] Irrigation with fertilizer solutions improved plant growth regardless of the biochar amendment. Biochar decreased the bioavailability of Cu and Pb in soil and the Cu content in pepper leaves. Combined with fertilization, biochar also decreased plant As and Pb content. Biochar combined with biostimulant decreased the bioavailable content of Cd in soil and its uptake by pepper plants., [CONCLUSION] The use of biochar and biostimulant presented advantages for plant production in a non-suitable scenario of nutrient scarcity and contamination.

This work assesses the suitability of three commercial activated carbons (AC) and their combination with olive mill waste compost (AC+C) as amendments for the remediation of two different contaminated soils. The treatments were applied to a mining soil and their ability to immobilize trace elements was evaluated. Besides, the efficiency of the amendments to degrade and reduce the availability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was investigated in a soil from a wood creosote treatment plant. To this aim, trace elements mobility and PAH degradation and availability were evaluated. Ecotoxicological assays were performed to assess potential toxicity risks in the untreated and the amended soils. In the mining soil, the AC were able to immobilize metals and As but the AC+C treatments were more effective than AC. In the PAH-polluted soil, AC treatments promoted the degradation of high molecular weight PAH but the AC+C amendments further enhanced the degradation of total PAH and reduced the availability of those with 3-rings. The ecotoxicological tests demonstrated an improvement of soil quality when AC and compost were applied together. In conclusion, the co-application of AC and compost reduces the mobility of potentially toxic elements in the polluted mine soil and enhances PAH degradation and reduces PAH availability in the creosote-contaminated soil.

Soil microbiology could be affected by the presence of pesticide residues during intensive farming, potentially threatening the soil environment. The aim here was to assess the dissipation of the herbicides triasulfuron and prosulfocarb, applied as a combined commercial formulation, and the changes in soil microbial communities (through the profile of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) extracted from the soil) during the dissipation time of the herbicides under field conditions. The dissipation of herbicides and the soil microbial structure were assessed under different agricultural practices, such as the repeated application of herbicides (twice), in unamended and amended soils with two organic amendments derived from green compost (GC1 and GC2) and with non-irrigation and irrigation regimes. The results obtained indicate slower dissipation for triasulfuron than for prosulfocarb. The 50% dissipation time (DT50) decreased under all conditions for the second application of triasulfuron, although not for prosulfocarb. The DT50 values for both herbicides increased in the GC2 amended soil with the highest organic carbon (OC) content. The DT50 values decreased for prosulfocarb with irrigation, but not for triasulfuron, despite its higher water solubility. The herbicides did not have any significant effects on the relative population of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria during the assay, but the relative abundance of Actinobacteria increased in all the soils with herbicides. At the end of the assay (215 days), the negative effects of herbicides on fungi abundance were significant (p < 0.05) for all the treatments. These microbiological changes were detected in non-irrigated and irrigated soils, and were more noticeable after the second application of herbicides. Actinobacteria could be responsible for the modification of herbicide degradation rates, which tend to be faster after the second application. This study makes a useful contribution to the evaluation of the s

The simultaneous use of herbicides and organic amendments is a common agricultural practice that may modify the behavior of the herbicides themselves and affect the microbial community in soils. There is little information about the changes in the soil microbial community by this agricultural practice under real field conditions. The aim of this work was to assess the effects on the soil microbial community (abundance, activity, and structure) of the following two herbicides triasulfuron (TSF) and prosulfocarb (PSC) applied as individual or combined formulations in an unamended soil (Soil) and in a soil amended with green compost (Soil + GC) at field scale. Herbicide dissipation, soil biomass, respiration, dehydrogenase activity (DHA), and the profile of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) were monitored for 100 days. Triasulfuron recorded a slower dissipation rate than PSC. The dissipation rate of TSF decreased in the GC-amended soils compared to the unamended ones. Furthermore, the Soil + GC recorded a higher soil biomass and respiration than the unamended ones. In the GC-amended soil, biomass values decreased with individual or combined TSF application compared to the Soil + GC control, while biomass values in the unamended soil increased with the application of combined herbicides after 100 days. In general, soil respiration values decreased with the application of herbicides in both the unamended and GC-amended soils. This negative effect was higher for the combined TSF + PSC application. DHA values decreased over time in the unamended soils treated with herbicides, but this decrease was not observed in the GC-amended soil. The microbial structure clearly changed throughout the experiment under the different conditions assayed. After 100 days of simultaneous TSF + PSC application, there was a significant increase in Gram-positive bacteria and a significant decrease in Gram-negative bacteria and Actinobacteria in the unamended soil. The GC-amended soil minimized the

Soil quality is strongly affected by microbial biomass that is involved in organic matter mineralization and the supply of nutrients to plants. The effects of trace elements on soil microbial biomass and activity are still controversial, and the contents of the elements in different forms, more than the total amounts, may affect soil microbial community. Volcanic soils are peculiar environments because of their chemical characteristics. Therefore, the aims of this research were to evaluate in volcanic soils: i) the elemental composition; ii) the elemental availability; and iii) the effects of elemental fractions on soil microbial biomass and activity. In order to reach the aims, the BCR sequential extraction method was applied in order to separate 22 elements in different soil fractions: acid soluble, reducible, oxidisable and residual. The studied biological parameters were: microbial and fungal biomasses, soil respiration, metabolic quotient, coefficient of endogenous mineralization, dehydrogenase and hydrolase activities, and phytotoxicity. Among the investigated elements, Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Ti, V and Zn were scarcely available; Cd appeared to be the most ready available element; Zn was mainly present in the acid soluble and in the residual fractions. Microbial biomass and activity appeared to be mainly affected by the reducible and oxidasable fractions of the investigated elements more than the acid soluble or residual ones. With the exception of La and V, the elemental content in the various fractions would seem to stimulate the microbial biomass and activity. Finally, the investigated volcanic soils showed phytotoxic properties.

Adding organic amendments to soil could modify the bioavailability of herbicides and lead to changes in the microbial community’s activity and structure. The objective here was to study the dissipation and total mass balance of 14C-labeled prosulfocarb applied at two rates (4 and 10 mg kg-1) in unamended and green compost (GC)-amended soil. Soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile analysis were determined to evaluate the effect of herbicide residues on microbial community´s activity and structure over the dissipation period. The dissipation rate of prosulfocarb decreased after soil amendment due to higher herbicide adsorption by the amended soil. The 50% dissipation time (DT50) increased 1.7 times in the unamended soil when the concentration of prosulfocarb increased 2.5 times. The mass balance results indicate that the sum of water and organic extractable fractions represented the highest amounts up to the dissipation of 50% 14C-prosulfocarb. The 14C-herbicide was then mainly mineralized (up to 11%-31%) or formed non-extractable residues (up to 35%-44%). The amount of 14C-prosulfocarb residues extracted with methanol was slightly higher in amended soils than in unamended ones. 14C-prosulfocarb mineralization was higher in unamended soils than in amended ones. The formation of non-extractable residues was continuous, and increased over time. Soil DHA decreased in the unamended soil and was maintained in the GC-amended soil at the end of the assay. The microbial structure was barely disturbed over the prosulfocarb degradation process, although it was clearly influenced by the application of GC. The results obtained reveal the influence organic amendment has on herbicide bioavailability to decrease its biodegradation and buffer its impact on the soil microbial structure.

This work shows the effects of the application of two herbicides, triasulfuron (T) and prosulfocarb (P) in unamended (S) and green-compost-amended (S+C) soils on soil microbial structure. The commercial formulations of herbicides were applied individually or as a combined formulation at agronomical doses. The assay was performed at field scale for 100 days. Along the assay, soil samples were taken to monitor the microbial structure of the soil by the phospholipid fatty acids profile analysis (PLFA). The results showed microbial structure shift by herbicides and green compost application. At the end of the assay, the unamended soil showed microbial shift by combined application of T+P, which enhanced the abundance of Gram positive bacteria and reduced the abundance of Gram negative bacteria and Actinobacteria. In the case of amended soils (S+C), prosulfocarb was responsible of the microbial shift, enhancing the abundance of Gram negative bacteria and Actinobacteria with respect to amended soils without prosulfocarb (S+C and S+C+T).