RT Journal Article
T1 Algae in Acid Mine Drainage and Relationships with Pollutants in a Degraded Mining Ecosystem
A1 Gomes, Patrícia
A1 Valente, Teresa
A1 Albuquerque, Teresa
A1 Henriques, Renato
A1 Flor Arnau, Núria
A1 Pamplona, Jorge
A1 Macías Vázquez, Felipe
K1 Acid mine drainage
K1 Mougeotia
K1 Acidophilic algae
K1 Photogrammetric products
K1 Factorial correspondence analysis
K1 Ecological monitoring
K1 Iberian Pyrite Belt
AB Acid mine drainage represents an extreme environment with high concentrations of potentially toxic elements and low pH values. These aquatic habitats are characterised by harsh conditions for biota, being dominated by acidophilic organisms. The study site, São Domingos mine, located in one of the largest metallogenetic provinces in the world, the Iberian Pyrite Belt, was closed without preventive measures. To identify the algae species and understand the relationships with abiotic parameters of the ecosystem, water and biological material were collected and analysed. Digital terrain models were obtained with an unmanned aerial vehicle for geomorphological and hydrologic characterisation of the mine degraded landscape. The results show two types of algal colours that seem to represent different degrees of photosynthetic activity. Optical and scanning electron microscopy revealed 14 taxa at the genus level, divided into eight classes. The genus Mougeotia is the most abundant multicellular algae. With respect to unicellular algae, diatoms are ubiquitous and abundant. Abiotic analyses expose typical features of acid mine drainage and support an inverse relationship between chemical contamination and biological diversity. Factorial correspondence analysis indicates three groups of attributes and samples by their relationship with specific toxic elements. This analysis also suggests a close association between Spirogyra and Pb, together composing a structurally simple ecosystem. The highest contamination in the river system is related to the hydrologic patterns obtained from photogrammetric products, such as the digital surface model and flow map accumulation, indicating the input of leachates from the section having the finest sulfide-rich wastes. Information about the algae community and their association with flow patterns of toxic elements is a relevant tool from a biomonitoring perspective
PB MDPI
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24458
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24458
LA eng
NO Minerals 2021, 11(2), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11020110
NO This work was funded by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) by the research fellowship under the POCH (Programa Operacional Capital Humano) supported by the European Social Fund and National Funds of MCTES (Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) with reference SFRH/BD/108887/2015. This work was co-funded by FCT through projects UIDB/04683/2020, UIDP/04683/2020 and Nano-MINENV 029259 (PTDC/CTA-AMB/29259/2017
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026