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Growth and elemental uptake of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) grown in a mine waste-contaminated soil amended with fly ash-enriched vermicompost

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Abstract

Vegetation cover in mine waste-affected soils is necessary to ensure sustainability of these fragile ecosystems. This study evaluated the potential of fly ash-enriched vermicompost (FV) to improve growth of Chloris gayana in a gold mine waste-affected soil. The treatments in the study were based on optimizing phosphorus supplied as vermicompost at 20 mg P and 40 mg P per kilogram soil which were compared to triple super phosphate (TSP) applied at 40 mg P/kg. The 40-mg P/kg FV treatment resulted in 38.4%, 164% and 182.5% significant increase in shoot height, shoot biomass and root biomass, respectively, relative to the control. The increased biomass was reflected in the plant tissue analysis where 40 mg P/kg FV had high P, Ca, Mg and K, though not significantly different to the 20-mg P/kg FV treatment. Amendment effect had no influence on plant tissue N, Pb, Cd and As. Chloris gayana uptake of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cr was significantly reduced with addition of the vermicompost, whereas Cu and B were significantly increased in the 40-mg P/kg FV treatment relative to the control though the increases did not exceed the critical concentration limits of these elements. Therefore, re-vegetation of mine waste-contaminated soils can be achieved with addition of FV at a rate of 40 mg P/kg FV. However, more studies may need to be done under field conditions to further evaluate the effectiveness of such vermicomposts in improving the re-vegetation capacity of mine waste-contaminated soils.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Govan Mbeki Research Development Centre at the University of Fort Hare, the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) through its Zero Hunger Project. The authors wish to thank Dr. Alen Manyevere, Mr. Tendayi Kadango and the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture for assisting with soil sampling. The authors also wish to thank the Dohne Agricultural Development Institute for assisting in laboratory analysis of selected parameters.

Funding

This study was funded by the Govan Mbeki Research Development Centre at the University of Fort Hare, the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant UID: 103135) and the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) through its Zero Hunger Project.

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Correspondence to Hupenyu Allan Mupambwa.

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Highlights

• Fly ash-enriched vermicompost improved growth of C. gayana in gold mine waste-affected soil.

• Addition of vermicompost reduces accumulation of Fe, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, As in C. gayana tissue.

• Increasing addition of the vermicompost increased plant available of Cu and B.

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Lukashe, N.S., Mnkeni, P.N.S. & Mupambwa, H.A. Growth and elemental uptake of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) grown in a mine waste-contaminated soil amended with fly ash-enriched vermicompost. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 19461–19472 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08354-7

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