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Plant and fertiliser effects on rhizodegradation of crude oil in two soils with different nutrient status

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Abstract

Soils and sediments polluted with crude oil are of major environmental concern on various contaminated sites. Outdoors pot experiments were conducted to test the phytodegradation potential of common reed (Phragmites australis) and poplar (Populus nigra × maximowiczii) in fertilised and non-fertilised control treatments. Two topsoils (E, G) of different texture were mixed with crude oil. Soil analysis included hydrocarbon (HC) measurements, detection of labile phosphorus and mineralised nitrogen as well as dehydrogenase activity. Increased HC degradation by native soil biota was clearly related to higher P availability in soil G and to fertilisation in soil E. Except of the non-fertilised common reed treatment, plants did not enhance crude oil degradation. We found even inhibited degradation of high molecular weight HC in the presence of plants together with declining labile phosphorous concentrations due to planting on soil E. Native soil biota were able to use the whole range of crude oil compounds (C10 to C60) as a carbon source in the presence of sufficient nutrient concentrations in soil. This study is the first to show that reduced HC degradation in the higher molecular weight crude oil fraction (C20 to C40) is likely to be a consequence of decreased phosphorus availability for microorganisms in the plant rhizosphere.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded through Kommunalkredit Austria by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Water Management and Environment (INTERLAND, project package 4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Peter Jordan Strasse 82, A-1190, Vienna, Austria

    Reinhard Unterbrunner, Gerlinde Wieshammer, Ursula Hollender, Bernd Felderer, Michael Wieshammer-Zivkovic, Markus Puschenreiter & Walter W. Wenzel

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  1. Reinhard Unterbrunner
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  2. Gerlinde Wieshammer
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  3. Ursula Hollender
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  4. Bernd Felderer
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  5. Michael Wieshammer-Zivkovic
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  6. Markus Puschenreiter
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  7. Walter W. Wenzel
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Correspondence to Markus Puschenreiter.

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Responsible Editor: Hans Lambers.

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Unterbrunner, R., Wieshammer, G., Hollender, U. et al. Plant and fertiliser effects on rhizodegradation of crude oil in two soils with different nutrient status. Plant Soil 300, 117–126 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9394-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9394-2

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