Remediation of a Riparian Site in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Reached by Contaminated Tailings from the Collapsed Fundão Dam with Native Woody Species

Abstract

The failure of the Fundão dam in Brazil spilled alkaline contaminated sediments (pH ~8) into the Doce River basin. The contaminated sediments had high levels of ether amine (6 mg/kg) and Na (54 mg/kg) in relation to those in preserved sites. In the present study, a riparian forest was established over contaminated sediment using 2 main remediation strategies: phytoremediation with species native to the Atlantic forest and previously selected for their tolerance to sediment toxicity, and physicochemical remediation by incorporating organic matter (OM) into the sediment. In the experimental site (ES), the tolerant native woody species were cultivated in 2 treatments: T1, scraping of the sediments and incorporation of the OM, and T2, nonmanaged sediment and superficial deposition of the OM. The results were compared with the findings from a degraded site (DS), which was reached by the contaminated sediments but lacked vegetation, and a preserved site (PS), which was composed of a fragment of preserved Atlantic forest. Six months after transplanting, the plants from T1 showed a better height growth performance and survival index in relation to those from T2. Furthermore, T1 showed a significant decline in the pH (to ~6) concomitant with a reduction in the ether amine and Na contents (to ~0.4 mg/kg and 23 mg/kg, respectively). There was an improvement in the soil fertility and total microbial biomass in both treatments, especially in T1. Therefore, the adopted phyto- and physicochemical remediation procedures are recommended to reclaim zones reached by dam tailings containing Na and ether amine. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:669–675. © 2020 SETAC.