4.8 Article

Soil Buffering Capacity Can Be Used To Optimize Biostimulation of Psychrotrophic Hydrocarbon Remediation

Journal

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 55, Issue 14, Pages 9864-9875

Publisher

AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01113

Keywords

bioremediation; biodegradation; phosphate; positron emission tomography; permafrost; microbial ecology

Funding

  1. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair - Federated Cooperatives Limited (FCL) [IRCSA 478012-13]
  2. NSERC Engage and Supplement grant - CH2M Hill
  3. NSERC Subatomic Physics Discovery Grant

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This study used PET to test two hypotheses: optimizing phosphate bioavailability in soil is more effective in promoting hydrocarbon degradation and oligotrophic biostimulation outperforms eutrophic approaches.
Effective bioremediation of hydrocarbons requires innovative approaches to minimize phosphate precipitation in soils of different buffering capacities. Understanding the mechanisms underlying sustained stimulation of bacterial activity remains a key challenge for optimizing bioremediation-particularly in northern regions. Positron emission tomography (PET) can trace microbial activity within the naturally occurring soil structure of intact soils. Here, we use PET to test two hypotheses: (1) optimizing phosphate bioavailability in soil will outperform a generic biostimulatory solution in promoting hydrocarbon remediation and (2) oligotrophic biostimulation will be more effective than eutrophic approaches. In so doing, we highlight the key bacterial taxa that underlie aerobic and anaerobic hydrocarbon degradation in subarctic soils. In particular, we showed that (i) optimized phosphate bioavailability outperformed generic biostimulatory solutions in promoting hydrocarbon degradation, (ii) oligotrophic biostimulation is more effective than eutrophic approaches, and (iii) optimized biostimulatory solutions stimulated specific soil regions and bacterial consortia. The knowledge gleaned from this study will be crucial in developing field-scale biodegradation treatments for sustained stimulation of bacterial activity in northern regions.

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