Biogeochemical cycling of iron: Implications for biocementation and slope stabilisation

Microbial biofilms growing in iron-rich seeps surrounding Lake Violão, Carajás, Brazil serve as a superb natural system to study the role of iron cycling in producing secondary iron cements. These seeps flow across iron duricrusts (referred to as canga in Brazil) into hydraulically restricted lakes in northern Brazil. Canga caps all of the iron ore deposits in Brazil, protecting them from being destroyed by erosion in this active weathering environment. Biofilm samples collected from these seeps demonstrated heightened biogeochemical iron cycling, contributing to the relatively rapid, seasonal formation of iron-rich cements. The seeps support iron-oxidising lineages including Sideroxydans, Gallionella, and an Azoarcus species revealed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In contrast, a low relative abundance of putative iron reducers; for example, Geobacter species (<5% of total sequences in any sample), corresponds to carbon limitation in this canga-associated ecosystem. This carbon limitation is likely to restrict anoxic niches to within biofilms. Examination of a canga rock sample collected from the edge of Lake Violão revealed an array of well- to poorly-preserved microbial fossils in secondary iron cements. These heterogeneous cements preserved bacterial cell envelopes and possibly extracellular polymeric substances within the microfossil iron-rich cements (termed biocements). Bacterial iron reduction initiates the sequence, and intuitively is the rate-limiting step in this broadly aerobic environment. The organic framework of the active- and paleo-biofilms appears to provide a scaffold for the formation of some cements within canga and likely expedites cement formation. The accelerated development of these resilient iron-rich biocements in the lake edge environment compared with surroundings duricrust-associated environments may provide insights into new approaches to remediate mined land, aiding to stabilise slopes, reduce erosion, restore functional hydrogeology and provide a substrate akin to natural canga for revegetation using endemic canga plant species, which have adapted to grow on iron-rich substrates.