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Utilizing Microbial Community Structure and Function to Evaluate the Health of Heavy Metal Polluted Soils

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Book cover Soil Heavy Metals

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 19))

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to combine perspectives developed in soil ecology, microbiology and biochemistry into a common framework for evaluating the health of soils polluted with heavy metals.

The use of microbial properties as indicators of soil health has been promoted by the recent development of effective methods for studying the diversity and functioning of microorganisms. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of these methodological approaches are discussed here. In addition, examples of their application to evaluate the health of heavy metal polluted soils are used to summarize the main results obtained so far on microbial function and community structure.

The study of soil resilience, which has recently been proposed as a promising indicator of soil health, can also guide us in the successful remediation of heavy metal polluted soils. This and other future challenges are discussed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbiología del suelo y Sistemas simbióticos, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Profesor Albareda 1, 28008, Granada, Spain

    M. Belén Hinojosa

  2. Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, Campus las Lagunillas, s/n, 23007, Jaén, Spain

    Roberto García-Ruiz & José A. Carreira

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  1. M. Belén Hinojosa
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  2. Roberto García-Ruiz
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  3. José A. Carreira
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Correspondence to M. Belén Hinojosa .

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Hinojosa, M.B., García-Ruiz, R., Carreira, J.A. (2010). Utilizing Microbial Community Structure and Function to Evaluate the Health of Heavy Metal Polluted Soils. In: Soil Heavy Metals. Soil Biology, vol 19. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02436-8_9

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