Indigenous Microbiota of Acid Mine Environment and Their Role in the Bioremediation of Abandoned Mining Sites

Abandoned mining sites are a result of anthropogenic activity, which has increased significantly in the recent past. As such, microbial populations and their biofilms in such environments have been found to possess the ability to transform persistent pollutants, thereby leading to natural attenuation. Additionally, they drive and accelerate biogeochemical processes that lead to ecological rehabilitation. In this review, we have looked into the types of mine wastes that constitute and pollute abandoned mining sites. The microbial flora that survives in such habitats and environments form biofilms, and through their innate capability can remediate such sites, leading to the possibility of revegetation and land reclamation. Shifts in the communities of such flora are observed with passage of time. The soils of such sites have enzymes that can further promote revegetation, if and only if their activity is restored after anthropogenic assault. Moreover, microbes here have plant growth promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) properties as well, which serve as an interesting link with phytoremediation.