title: Microbial activities in soils of a former sawmill area.
abstract: To find out microbial metabolic functioning and toxicity in a former sawmill area, carbon dioxide evolution, methane oxidation potential, 10 hydrolytic enzyme activities, Vibrio fischeri test, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis activity (FDA), soil pH, carbon, nitrogen and pentachlorophenol (PCP) content were measured at four sites. The area is contaminated with aged chlorophenols. Chlorophenol content of soil was analyzed with a novel HPLC-MS technique, which allowed to measure chlorophenols without derivatization. The sites had a pollution gradient from 0.5 to 15 microg PCP g dw of soil(-1). Endogenous carbon dioxide evolution, methane oxidation potential, butyrate-esterase, acetate-esterase, sulphatase and aminopeptidase activities were lower at the site 2 than 3, although the site 2 and 3 had similar content of carbon and nitrogen. The soil was toxic in V. fischeri test at the site 2, which had high content of PCP (3.93+/-1.00 microg PCP g dw of soil(-1)). The results indicated that endogenous carbon dioxide evolution, methane oxidation potential, butyrate-esterase, acetate-esterase, sulphatase and aminopeptidase activities were sensitive to PCP in the soil. The results indicated that alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, beta-xylosidase, beta-cellobiosidase, phosphomonoesterase, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity and FDA hydrolysis activity were not sensitive to PCP in the soil. Soil processes involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus were only slightly vulnerable in the former sawmill area and most sensitive microbial species were probably replaced with more tolerant ones to maintain and recover functioning of the former sawmill soils.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, Division of Microbiology, POB 56, Biocenter, Helsinki University, FIN 00014, Finland. mika.kahkonen@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Mika A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kähkönen
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuomela
authors.forename: Annele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hatakka
mesh_terms: D000115:Acetylesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D048908:Aliivibrio fischeri / Q000737:chemistry; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005452:Fluoresceins / Q000378:metabolism; D007221:Industry; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010416:Pentachlorophenol / Q000032:analysis; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014934:Wood; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005452:Fluoresceins; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010416:Pentachlorophenol; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases; C021487:butyrylesterase; D000115:Acetylesterase; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases; D008697:Methane; C018506:diacetylfluorescein