Mine tailings are moderately to severely impacted sites that lack normal plant cover, soil structure and development, and the associated microbial community. In arid and semiarid environments, tailings and their associated contaminants are prone to eolian dispersion and water erosion, thus becoming sources of metal contamination. One approach to minimize or eliminate these processes is to establish a permanent vegetation cover on tailings piles. Here we report a revegetation trial conducted at a moderately impacted mine tailings site in southern Arizona. A salt and drought-tolerant plant, four-wing saltbush [Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.], was chosen for the trial. A series of 3 by 3 m plots were established in quadruplicate on the test site to evaluate growth of four-wing saltbush transplants alone or with compost addition. Results show that >80% of the transplanted saltbush survived after 1.5 yr in both treatments. Enumeration of heterotrophs and community structure analysis were conducted to monitor bacterial community changes during plant establishment as an indicator of plant and soil health. The bacterial community was evaluated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of 16S rDNA PCR gene products from tailings samples taken beneath transplant canopies. Significant differences in heterotrophic counts and community composition were observed between the two treatments and unplanted controls throughout the trial, but treatment effects were not observed. The results suggest that compost is not necessary for plant establishment at this site and that plants, rather than added compost, is the primary factor enhancing bacterial heterotrophic counts and affecting community composition.

The relationship between compost amendment, plant biomass produced, and bacterial root colonization as measured by fluorescence in situ hybridization was examined following plant growth in mine tailings. Mine tailings can remain devoid of vegetation for decades after deposition due to a combination of factors that include heavy metal toxicity, low pH, poor substrate structure and water-holding capacity, and a severely impacted heterotrophic microbial community. Research has shown that plant establishment, a desired remedial objective to reduce eolian and water erosion of such tailings, is enhanced by organic matter amendment and is correlated with significant increases in rhizosphere populations of neutrophilic heterotrophic bacteria. Results show that for the acidic metalliferous tailings tested in this study, compost amendment was associated with significantly increased bacterial colonization of roots and increased production of plant biomass. In contrast, for a Vinton control soil, increased compost had no effect on root colonization and resulted only in increased plant biomass at high levels of compost amendment. These data suggest that the positive association between compost amendment and root colonization is important in the stressed mine tailings environment where root colonization may enhance both microbial and plant survival and growth.A long-term goal in the revegetation of mine tailings is to develop a sustainable ecosystem that is able to survive perturbation and minimize wind and water erosion processes (9, 12). Mine tailings have drastically reduced and functionally altered microbial communities that are not suited to support plant establishment in tailings (13). In fact, previous work has documented major transitions in the microbial communities of tailings during successful plant establishment in tailings (8,11,14,16). For example, in a recent field study in a neutral tailings site, a temporal sample series taken in the rooting zone underwent significant bacterial community changes during an 18-month field trial compared to unplanted controls (16). Similarly, a recent greenhouse study showed a 1-to 5-log decrease in iron and sulfur oxidizers accompanied by a 6-log increase in neutrophilic heterotrophs, following plant establishment in acidic tailings (11). One question that has arisen from these studies is whether the transitions in specific microbial populations observed in bulk and rhizosphere soils during plant establishment in mine tailings are reflected in the colonization of roots by bacteria. This question was prompted by recent research indicating that plants which have undergone root colonization by beneficial microorganisms can subsequently become "primed" and respond more effectively to subsequent stress, including abiotic stress (6).Revegetation of tailings generally requires the addition of large amounts of amendments, which can include compost, biosolids, lime, or topsoil, a factor that helps dictate remediation costs (9,12,14). Recent research has explored the minimum compost amen...

Summary Organic nitrogen (N) is abundant in soils, but early conceptual frameworks considered it nonessential for plant growth. It is now well recognised that plants have the potential to take up organic N. However, it is still unclear whether plants supplement their N requirements by taking up organic N in situ: at what rate is organic N diffusing towards roots and are plants taking it up? We combined microdialysis with live‐root uptake experiments to measure amino acid speciation and diffusion rates towards roots of Eriophorum vaginatum. Amino acid diffusion rates (321 ng N cm−2 h−1) were c. 3× higher than those for inorganic N. Positively charged amino acids made up 68% of the N diffusing through soils compared with neutral and negatively charged amino acids. Live‐root uptake experiments confirmed that amino acids are taken up by plants (up to 1 µg N g−1 min−1 potential net uptake). Amino acids must be considered when forecasting plant‐available N, especially when they dominate the N supply, and when acidity favours proteolysis over net N mineralisation. Determining amino acid production pathways and supply rates will become increasingly important in projecting the extent and consequences of shrub expansion, especially considering the higher C : N ratio of plants relative to soil.