We investigated the efficiency of various by-products (sugarbeet lime, biosolid compost and leonardite), based on single or repeated applications to field plots, on the establishment of a vegetation cover compatible with a stabilization strategy on a multi-element (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) contaminated soil 4–6 years after initial amendment applications. Results indicate that the need for re-treatment is amendment- and element-dependent; in some cases, a single application may reduce trace element concentrations in above-ground biomass and enhance the establishment of a healthy vegetation cover. Amendment performance as evaluated by % cover, biomass and number of colonizing taxa differs; however, changes in plant community composition are not necessarily amendment-specific. Although the translocation of trace elements to the plant biotic compartment is greater in re-vegetated areas, overall loss of trace elements due to soil erosion and plant uptake is usually smaller compared to that in bare soil.

Anthropogenic N deposition poses a threat to European Mediterranean ecosystems. We combined data from an extant N deposition gradient (4.3–7.3 kg N ha−1 yr−1) from semiarid areas of Spain and a field experiment in central Spain to evaluate N deposition effects on soil fertility, function and cyanobacteria community. Soil organic N did not increase along the extant gradient. Nitrogen fixation decreased along existing and experimental N deposition gradients, a result possibly related to compositional shifts in soil cyanobacteria community. Net ammonification and nitrification (which dominated N-mineralization) were reduced and increased, respectively, by N fertilization, suggesting alterations in the N cycle. Soil organic C content, C:N ratios and the activity of β-glucosidase decreased along the extant gradient in most locations. Our results suggest that semiarid soils in low-productivity sites are unable to store additional N inputs, and that are also unable to mitigate increasing C emissions when experiencing increased N deposition.

Salt buildup is a global phenomenon in semiarid soils that leads to land degradation and water quality deterioration. These problems can be alleviated through the quantification of salt leaching from topsoil horizons. Delocalization of solid-phase salts and solution-phase leaching was evaluated within the topsoil layers of a semiarid farmland by utilizing a non-invasive electromagnetic sensing and stochastic modeling approach. The horizontal and vertical conductivity signals were strongly correlated (r = 0.988, P < 0.05) and characterized by high precision and low errors (0.12–0.18). Electrical conductivity across the field was highly variable within the 0.6-m profile with nearly all surveyed locations exhibiting values greater than 2 dS m⁻¹. Around 86% of the salinity data in 0.3-m depth ranged from 2 to 8 dS m⁻¹, and 56% data within 0.3–0.6 m surpassed 8 dS m⁻¹. Spatial depletion in salinity within the 0.3-m depth plausibly resulted from salt delocalization. The salinity values generally exceeded plant tolerance threshold limits and indicated that most crops would be adversely affected unless management practices were aimed at removing salts past the topsoil horizons. The leaching fraction levels ranged from 5 to 40% across the topsoil layers, and indicated the need for salt removal practices for most crops. Overall, salt delocalization analysis can benefit agronomic decisions for irrigation and soil quality management. The approach can be applied worldwide in locating impaired soil zones that need salt reclamation for developing best management practices pertaining to site-specific crop selection and agricultural water budgeting.

In this work, we examined the effect of two different organic wastes, composted sheep manure and coir, on the sorption, persistence, and mobility of three pesticides (alachlor, chlorfenvinphos, and chlorpyrifos) included as priority substances in European Directive 2013/39/EU. With this aim, leaching studies were conducted using disturbed soil columns filled with a typical agricultural soil (hipercalcic calcisol) from a semiarid area (southeastern Spain) to determine their potential for groundwater pollution. The three compounds were found in leachates of unamended soil although in different proportions: 53% (alachlor), 9% (chlorfenvinphos), and 6% (chlorpiryfos). The addition of organic wastes significantly increased the sorption of the studied pesticides. As a consequence, the half-lives of the studied pesticides were higher in amended than in unamended soils. A marked reduction of the amount recovered in leachates was observed in the amended soils, except for chlorpiryfos, whose recoveries barely changed. According to their potential groundwater pollution calculated as the groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) index, alachlor and chlorfenvinphos show medium leachability while chlorpiryfos is unlikely to leach.

Most of the chemicals containing non-biodegradable metal pollutants from anthropogenic sources are highly mobile in nature. The only way to contain or limit their movement is through sorption and entrapment in the soil matrices. In this study, the sorptive response of the three most commonly found divalent metal contaminants, copper (Cu⁺²), lead (Pb⁺²), and zinc (Zn⁺²), are studied using two locally available semi-arid soils from Saudi Arabia. To enhance their retention capacity, these soils are amended with lime. The response to sorption at varying initial contaminant concentrations, pH conditions, temperature levels, and dilution ratios are investigated. Relying on empirical models (Langmuir and Freundlich), the nature of sorption (monolayer or heterogeneous) is ascertained. Further, kinetic models are employed to validate the type and nature of sorption that occurs (whether pseudo first-order or second-order). It is found that the experimental results correlate well with these empirical models for both the Al-Ghat and Al-Qatif soils when amended with lime and attenuate Cu, Pb, and Zn to satisfactory levels. The R ² values are close to 1 for all the tested models. The order of sorption was Pb > Cu > Zn for these heavy metals, and also for soils and soil mixtures that were considered: Al-Qatif soil amended with 6 % lime > Al-Ghat soil with 6 % lime > Al-Qatif > Al-Ghat. Lime-treated soils sorbed 73, 65, and 60 % more than the untreated soils for Pb, Cu, and Zn, respectively.

Various geochemical studies have yielded conflicting data on whether humic coatings decrease or increase adsorption of heavy metals by soil minerals. The objective of the present study is to determine how humate pre-adsorption affects subsequent retention of Cd and Pb by palygorskite and sepiolite, as special silicate clay minerals of soil in many arid regions. For this purpose, a series of equilibrium batch experiments were conducted on the interactions of Pb and Cd with Ca–palygorskite and Ca–sepiolite before and after humate adsorption. The results showed that the Langmuir (L), Freundlich (F), Langmuir–Freundlich (LF), and Toth (T) equations satisfactorily described metal sorption data on the minerals. In the presence of humate as the pre-adsorbate, the values for sorption capacities of palygorskite and sepiolite for Cd and Pb slightly decreased. This can be attributed to the competition between humates and metal ions for mineral active sites and steric hindrance of the adsorbed humates, which reduces the access of metal ions to the mineral surface and internal channels. Humate coatings decreased the adsorption equilibrium constants of Cd, suggesting that the affinity of the organo-clays for Cd sorption is lower than those of Ca–clays. The values for the heterogeneity factor (β) generally showed an increasing trend with increasing humate coverage on palygorskite and sepiolite, which can be explained by the increased diversity of adsorption centers on humate–clay complexes. It may be concluded that the presence of humate bound on fibrous clay surfaces can influence the sorption, and hence the bioavailability and mobility of heavy metals in fibrous clay-containing arid and semiarid soils.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution can alter soil flora and fauna, as well as the microbial community associated with the main biogeochemical cycles of a soil. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of two different concentrations of Cd pollutant, 6.5 mg kg⁻¹ (low level) and 12.5 mg kg⁻¹ (high level) on microbial community activity, abundance, and structure in a semiarid soil after a 60-day incubation period at laboratory level. Available Cd, water soluble carbon (WSC), microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, and real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to measure the influence of Cd on the abundance and activity of the microbial community. Bacteria and fungi community structure and diversity based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis were also analyzed. The percentage of Cd extracted by diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid increased with the higher total concentration of Cd added to the soil, being 16.9% at low level and 77.9% at the high level. WSC, Cmic, and ATP content decreased significantly as soil Cd concentration increased (WSC 29% and 34%, Cmic 27% and 35%, and ATP 32% and 47%, at low and high levels, respectively). While fungal diversity already decreased with low levels of Cd concentration, and was even more negatively affected by the higher pollution levels, bacterial (acidobacteria, α-proteobacteria, and β proteobacteria) diversity only showed a decline with the higher Cd concentration. The fungi-to-bacteria ratio showed by the different treatments could imply that fungi abundance is less influenced by increased Cd pollution, although fungi diversity as revealed by DGGE analysis diminished as soil Cd concentration increased.

A mesocosm experiment was established to evaluate the effect of two organic wastes: fermented sugar beet residue (SBR) and urban waste compost on the stimulation of plant growth, phytoaccumulation of heavy metals (HM) and soil biological quality and their possible use in phytostabilization tasks with native (Piptatherum miliaceum, Retama sphaerocarpa, Bituminaria bituminosa, Coronilla juncea and Anthyllis cytisoides) and non-native (Lolium perenne) plants in a heavy metal-contaminated semiarid soil. Except R. sphaerocarpa, SBR increased the contents of shoot N, P and K and shoot biomass of all plants. The percentage of mycorrhizal colonization was not affected by the organic amendments. The highest increase in dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase activities was recorded in SBR-amended P. miliaceum. SBR decreased toxic levels of HM in shoot of P. miliaceum, mainly decreasing Fe and Pb uptake to plants. This study pointed out that the SBR was the most effective amendment for enhancing the plant performance and for improving soil quality. The combination of SBR and P. miliaceum can be regarded the most effective strategy for being employed in phytostabilization projects of this contaminated site.

We investigated the potential of soil moisture and nutrient amendments to enhance the biodegradation of oil in the soils from an ecologically unique semi-arid island. This was achieved using a series of controlled laboratory incubations where moisture or nutrient levels were experimentally manipulated. Respired CO2 increased sharply with moisture amendment reflecting the severe moisture limitation of these porous and semi-arid soils. The greatest levels of CO2 respiration were generally obtained with a soil pore water saturation of 50–70%. Biodegradation in these nutrient poor soils was also promoted by the moderate addition of a nitrogen fertiliser. Increased biodegradation was greater at the lowest amendment rate (100 mg N kg−1 soil) than the higher levels (500 or 1,000 mg N kg−1 soil), suggesting the higher application rates may introduce N toxicity. Addition of phosphorous alone had little effect, but a combined 500 mg N and 200 mg P kg−1 soil amendment led to a synergistic increase in CO2 respiration (3.0×), suggesting P can limit the biodegradation of hydrocarbons following exogenous N amendment.