We performed an experiment at pot scale to assess the effect of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) on the development of five plant species grown on a tailing dam substrate. None of the species even germinated on inoculated unamended tailing material, prompting use of compost amendment. The effect of inoculation on the amended material was to increase soil respiration, and promote elements immobilisation at plant root surface. This was associated with a decrease in the concentrations of elements in the leaching water and an increase of plant biomass, statistically significant in the case of two species: Agrostis capillaris and Festuca rubra. The experiment was repeated at lysimeter scale with the species showing the best development at pot scale, A. capillaris, and the significant total biomass increase as a result of inoculation was confirmed. The patterns of element distribution in plants also changed (the concentrations of metals in the roots of A. capillaris and F. rubra significantly decreased in inoculated treatments, while phosphorus concentration significantly increased in roots of A. capillaris in inoculated treatment at lysimeter scale). Measured variables for plant oxidative stress did not change after inoculations. There were differences of A. capillaris plant–soil system response between experimental scales as a result of different substrate column structure and plant age at the sampling moment. Soil respiration was significantly larger at lysimeter scale than at pot scale. Leachate concentrations of As, Mn and Ni had significantly larger concentrations at lysimeter scale than at pot scale, while Zn concentrations were significantly smaller. Concentrations of several metals were significantly smaller in A. capillaris at lysimeter scale than at pot scale. From an applied perspective, a system A. capillaris—compost—PGPB selected from the rhizosphere of the tailing dam native plants can be an option for the phytostabilisation of tailing dams. Results should be confirmed by investigation at field plot scale.

This paper describes a novel statistical approach to derive ecologically relevant sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) from field data using a nonparametric empirical Bayesian method (NEBM). We made use of the Norwegian Oil Industrial Association database and extracted concurrently obtained data on species density and contaminant levels in sediment samples collected between 1996 and 2001. In brief, effect concentrations (ECs) of each installation (i.e., oil platform) at a given reduction in species density were firstly derived by fitting a logistic-type regression function to the relationship between the species density and the corresponding concentration of a chemical of concern. The estimated ECs were further improved by the NEBM which incorporated information from other installations. The distribution of these improved ECs from all installations was determined nonparametrically by the kernel method, and then used to determine the hazardous concentration (HC) which can be directly linked to the species loss (or the species being protected) in the sediment. This method also enables an accurate estimation of the lower confidence limit of the HC, even when the number of observations was small. To illustrate the effectiveness of this novel technique, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, lead, tetrahydrocannabinol, and zinc were chosen as example contaminants. This novel approach can generate ecologically sound SQGs for environmental risk assessment and cost-effectiveness analysis in sediment remediation or mud disposal projects, since sediment quality is closely linked to species density.

This paper gives an overview of management considerations required for better control of deicing chemicals in the unsaturated zone at sites with winter maintenance operations in cold regions. Degradable organic deicing chemicals are the main focus. The importance of the heterogeneity of both the infiltration process, due to frozen ground and snow melt including the contact between the melting snow cover and the soil, and unsaturated flow is emphasised. In this paper, the applicability of geophysical methods for characterising soil heterogeneity is considered, aimed at modelling and monitoring changes in contamination. To deal with heterogeneity, a stochastic modelling framework may be appropriate, emphasizing the more robust spatial and temporal moments. Examples of a combination of different field techniques for measuring subsoil properties and monitoring contaminants and integration through transport modelling are provided by the SoilCAM project and previous work. Commonly, the results of flow and contaminant fate modelling are quite detailed and complex and require post-processing before communication and advising stakeholders. The managers’ perspectives with respect to monitoring strategies and challenges still unresolved have been analysed with basis in experience with research collaboration with one of the case study sites, Oslo airport, Gardermoen, Norway. Both scientific challenges of monitoring subsoil contaminants in cold regions and the effective interaction between investigators and management are illustrated.

The natural microbial activity in the unsaturated soil is vital for protecting groundwater in areas where high loads of biodegradable contaminants are supplied to the surface, which usually is the case for airports using aircraft de-icing fluids (ADF) in the cold season. Horizontal and vertical distributions of microbial abundance were assessed along the western runway of Oslo Airport (Gardermoen, Norway) to monitor the effect of ADF dispersion with special reference to the component with the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD), propylene glycol (PG). Microbial abundance was evaluated by several biondicators: colony-forming units (CFU) of some physiological groups (aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophs and microscopic fungi), most probable numbers (MPN) of PG degraders, selected catabolic enzymatic activities (fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolase, dehydrogenase, and β-glucosidase). High correlations were found between the enzymatic activities and microbial counts in vertical soil profiles. All microbial abundance indicators showed a steep drop in the first meter of soil depth. The vertical distribution of microbial abundance can be correlated by a decreasing exponential function of depth. The horizontal trend of microbial abundance (evaluated as total aerobic CFU, MPN of PG-degraders, and FDA hydrolase activity) assessed in the surface soil at an increasing distance from the runway is correlated negatively with the PG and COD loads, suggesting the relevance of other chemicals in the modulation of microbial growth. The possible role of potassium formate, component of runway de-icers, has been tested in the laboratory by using mixed cultures of Pseudomonas spp., obtained by enrichment with a selective PG medium from soil samples taken at the most contaminated area near the runway. The inhibitory effect of formate on the growth of PG degraders is proven by the reduction of biomass yield on PG in the presence of formate.

Petroleum hydrocarbons are considered one of the main organic chemicals found in water bodies. In the present study, the median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) was estimated for mullet Mugil liza after acute exposure to petroleum water-soluble fraction (PWSF). Furthermore, histopathological studies and micronuclei frequency were also performed in order to observe deleterious effects of medium-term exposition to PWSF. Mullets (25 ± 2.3 g) were exposed to chronic concentrations (1.7, 3.5 and 7 % of PWSF), plus the control group, for 14 and 7 days of clearance time. Throughout the experimental period (1, 4, 14 and 21 days), blood samples were collected for analysis of micronucleus (MN) and liver and gills for histopathological study. For these procedures, seven fish were sampled per concentration tested. The LC₅₀-96 h was estimated at 37.5 % of the PWSF. The time required for MN induction was 96 h of exposure. The time of clearance was sufficient to achieve a MN frequency similar to that of the control group. Histopathological studies showed severe changes in the gill and liver tissues. The most relevant histopathology in the gills was telangiectasia. Hepatic histopathology such as cholestasis, dilated sinusoids and inflammatory infiltrates were commonly described. The MN test and histological study effectively detected damages caused by medium-term exposition to the PWSF, and despite the toxicity, a few days without exposure can minimize PWSF genotoxicity in juveniles of M. liza.

Edible and medicinal macrofungi used in human diet represent not only important sources of nutritive elements but toxic substances as well (heavy metals and radionuclides). Radioactivity levels of four radionuclides (⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra) were determined in the basidiomata (fruiting bodies of a Basidiomycetes) of six lignicolous (Fomitopsis pinicola, Ganoderma applanatum, Hericium clathroides, Megacollybia platyphylla, Pluteus cervinus, Trametes gibbosa) and three mycorrhizal (Boletus luridus, Boletus sp. 1, Boletus sp. 2) species as well as their soil (wood) substrates by gamma spectrometry (high-resolution high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector). The aim was to investigate their ability for radionuclide absorption according to transfer factors (from soil and wood), to predict potential bioindicator species as well as species with potential risk for human use. Samples were taken during years 2011 and 2012, at two sites in forest ecosystem of Tara Mountain (Serbia). Observed concentration ranges per dry weight were as follows: 29–3,020 Bq/kg (⁴⁰K), 21.9–735 Bq/kg (¹³⁷Cs), 3–39 Bq/kg (²²⁶Ra), and 2.0–18 Bq/kg (²²⁸Ra). Obtained results indicate that the type of basidiome (fleshy/tough), most likely due to a different metabolic rate, has a very important role in radionuclide accumulation. The highest activity concentrations of all analyzed radionuclides were found in species with fleshy basidiomata—P. cervinus, H. clathroides, M. platyphylla, and Boletus species. A species-specific influence on radionuclide uptake was more prominent comparing to habitat differences and the role of fungal trophic mode. No significant variations were observed regarding radionuclide activity among the same fungal species from different sampling sites.

Living or formerly living organisms are being used to obtain information on the quality of the general health status of our environment by bioindication and biomonitoring methods for many decades. Thus, different roads toward this common scientific goal were developed by a lot of different international research groups. Global cooperation in between various scientific teams throughout the world has produced common ideas, scientific definitions, and highly innovative results of this extremely attractive working field. The transdisciplinary approach of different and multifaceted scientific areas—starting from biology, analytical chemistry, via health physics, up to social and economic issues—have surpassed mental barriers of individual scientists, so that “production” of straightforward common results related to the influence of material and immaterial environmental factors to the well-being of organisms and human life has now reached the forefront of international thinking. For the further sustainable development of our common scientific “hobby” of bioindication and biomonitoring, highest personal energy has to be given by us, being teachers to our students and to convince strategically decision makers as politicians to invest (financially) into the development of education and research of this innovative technique. Young people have to be intensively convinced on the “meaning” of our scientific doing, e.g., by extended forms of education. One example of multilingual education of students on a global scale and perspective is given here, which we started about 3 years ago.

Crops, particularly in the Northeast region of Mexico, have to cope with increasing soil salinization due to irrigation. Chloride (Cl⁻) concentration has been strongly related to enhance cadmium (Cd) uptake by plants due to increased solubility in the soil solution. The effect of irrigation with slightly saline water from a local well was evaluated in this work on the accumulation and translocation of Cd in Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.) grown in soil historically amended with stabilized sewage sludge under a regime of phosphorus and zinc fertilization. A factorial pot experiment was conducted with two phosphate fertilizer levels (PF, 0 and 80 kg ha⁻¹dry soil, respectively), two Zn levels (0 and 7 kg ha⁻¹dry soil), and two sources of water for irrigation deionized water (DW) and slightly saline well water (WW) from an agricultural site. Additionally, a human risk assessment for Cd ingestion from plants was assessed. Results showed that Cl⁻salinity in the WW effectively mobilized soil Cd and increased its phytoavailability. A higher level of Cd was found in roots (46.41 mg kg⁻¹) compared to shoots (10.75 mg kg⁻¹). Although the total content of Cd in the edible parts of the Swiss chard irrigated with WW exceeded permissible recommended consumption limit, bioavailable cadmium in the aboveground parts of the plant in relation to the total cadmium content was in the range from 8 to 32 %. Therefore, human health risks might be overestimated when the total concentration is taken into account.

To enhance the removal efficiency of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by natural biosorbent, sorption of phenanthrene and pyrene onto raw and modified tea leaves as a model biomass were investigated. Tea leaves were treated using Soxhlet extraction, saponification, and acid hydrolysis to yield six fractions. The structures of tea leaf fractions were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The amorphous cellulose components regulated the sorption kinetics, capacity, and mechanism of biomass fractions. The adsorption kinetics fit well to pseudo-second-order model and isotherms followed the Freundlich equation. By the consumption of the amorphous cellulose under acid hydrolysis, both the aliphatic moieties and aromatic domains contributed to total sorption, thus sorption capacities of the de-sugared fractions were dramatically increased (5–20-fold for phenanthrene and 8–36-fold for pyrene). All de-sugared fractions exhibited non-linear sorption due to strong specific interaction between PAHs and exposed aromatic domains of biosorbent, while presenting a relative slow rate because of the condensed domain in de-sugared samples. The availability of strong sorption phases (aromatic domains) in the biomass fractions were controlled by polar polysaccharide components, which were supported by the FTIR, CHN, and SEM data.

Laboratory-scale batch, vertical, and horizontal column experiments were conducted to investigate the attenuative capacity of a fine-grained clayey soil of local origin in the surrounding of a steel plant wastewater discharge site in West Bengal, India, for removal of phenol. Linear, Langmuir, and Freundlich isotherm plots from batch experimental data revealed that Freundlich isotherm model was reasonably fitted (R² = 0.94). The breakthrough column experiments were also carried out with different soil bed heights (5, 10, and 15 cm) under uniform flow to study the hydraulic movements of phenol by evaluating time concentration flow behavior using bromide as a tracer. The horizontal migration test was also conducted in the laboratory using adsorptive phenol and nonreactive bromide tracer to explore the movement of solute in a horizontal distance. The hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients (D) in the vertical and horizontal directions in the soil were estimated using nonlinear least-square parameter optimization method in CXTFIT model. In addition, the equilibrium convection dispersion model in HYDRUS 1D was also examined to simulate the fate and transport of phenol in vertical and horizontal directions using Freundlich isotherm constants and estimated hydrodynamic parameters as input in the model. The model efficacy and validation were examined through statistical parameters such as the coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error and design of index (d).