Effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the matrix properties and plant growth of tailings waste

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The appropriate ratio of amendments can improve the substrate environment for plant growth and improve the repair efficiency. Study its improvement effect on tailings wasteland from the aspects of plant growth and nutritional elements. Considering that, this study explored the effects of water and fertilizer treatment on the physical and chemical properties and plant growth of quarry waste matrix with different ratios. The original soilwithout fertilizer and 45% water treatment was used as the control group (CK), and and the composite soil with different ratios of original soil and slag and various water and nitrogen fertilizer treatment combinations was used as the experimental group. Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng , Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum , Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv , Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort ( Artemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant .)were planted in the control group and the experimental group respectively. After 30 days of nitrogen fertilizer and water treatment, an analysis was conducted to assess the physicochemical properties and the plant growth status of the tailing matrix for each experimental treatment. The results showed that the M5 treatment fostered the growth of Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng and mugwort, while the M2 treatment promoted the growth of Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum , and the M3 treatment was beneficial to the growth of Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv and Periploca sepium Bunge . The soil matrix pH of Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng , Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum , setaria glauca (L.) Beauv, and Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort are all greater than 7.5, and macronutrient elements such as TK, AK, TN, AN, TP, and AP all have certain levels of improvement. PCA analysis showed that there were significant differences in substrate properties and plant growth properties between treatments for Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng , Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum , Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv , Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort ( P <0.05). Correlation network and structural equation analysis showed that the water and fertilizer10 matrix had a significant positive correlation with soil AN and TN ( P <0.05), and TK had a positive correlation with the growth status of five plants. The water and fertilizer substrate has a positive correlation with the growth status of Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng , Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv , Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort, and a negative correlation with the growth status of Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum . Biological sciences/Plant sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Introduction The large-scale extraction of mineral resources has led to a significant increase in tailings waste 1 . These tailings possess characteristics such as a loose structure, limited water retention capacity, scarcity of nutrients, and they pose serious environmental threats 2 . Their environmental impact is enduring, extensive, intense, and regional in nature 3 . Therefore, identifying a more effective method for the remediation of tailings and management of tailings waste is imperative. The primary techniques for tailings remediation include physical remediation, chemical remediation, and phytoremediation. Conventional physical and chemical remediation approaches often entail drawbacks, including elevated costs, adverse effects on soil properties, and the potential for secondary pollution, thus constraining their applicability. In contrast, phytoremediation has garnered considerable attention due to its efficacy 4 . The fundamental components of vegetation ecological restoration are plants and substrate. Primarily, the plants involved are local native species known for their robust adaptability. Conversely, the substrate, an equally significant factor, profoundly influences vegetation ecological restoration. This substrate primarily comprises planting soil, fertilizers, and various additives. Distinct proportions affect both the water-related properties of the substrate and the suitability for plant growth. Thus, it's essential that the substrate is enriched with organic matter and the requisite nutrients for plant growth 5 . During mining and transportation activities, the inherent structure of the planting soil is compromised, leading to increased porosity, heightened permeability, diminished shear strength, a lax texture, and an unstable physical constitution. When such altered soil is applied directly to compacted layers like storage and transportation platforms without protective interventions, it becomes highly susceptible to severe soil erosion, landslides, and other related geological catastrophes under the influence of wind and water 6 , 7 . Since the beginning of the 21st century, infrastructure development in China has witnessed remarkable growth. This surge in demand for building stones has spurred extensive unregulated mining, leading to numerous exposed mines and tailings remnants. To promote sustainable development and safeguard the ecological environment, the government has shuttered many unauthorized mining operations. Nevertheless, addressing the lingering tailings remnants through ecological restoration remains a pressing necessity. In the course of mining and quarrying operations, waste can account for up to 70% of the overall quarry volume. Such accumulated quarry waste not only takes up vast tracts of land but also destroys the landscape and poses safety hazards. Addressing quarry waste disposal is crucial to the ecological restoration of quarry areas 8 , 9 . Quarry waste serves as a raw material in the production of concrete and ceramic tiles, and as a construction material for highways 10 . However, most research primarily concentrates on fine particles smaller than 4–5 mm, with limited studies addressing coarse-grained slag 11 , 12 .This coarse slag possesses a loose structure, with particles typically in point contact. It is characterized by its high bulk capacity, high shear strength, low subsidence deformation and high permeability. It is exactly complementary to the low shear strength and high compressibility of sieved soil 13 . Gravel is a prevalent surface cover material, offering protection against the direct impact of wind, wind-sand flow, and rainfall. Numerous studies indicate that gravel coverage effectively reduces slope runoff and soil erosion 14 , 15 . Within soils containing gravel, an increase in gravel content corresponds to a delayed onset of flow production on the slope and alterations in both the quantity and rate of soil infiltration 15 . Incorporating coarse gravel from quarrying operations with sieved soil can form a suitable substrate for plant growth. This approach not only enhances the physical attributes of the sieved soil but also reduces the quarry spoil volume in quarry site vegetative construction. In this study, gravel was amalgamated with field soil at varying volume ratios to create a planting substrate comprising sieved soil and gravel, intended for plant growth during quarry site rehabilitation. Laboratory potting experiments assessed both the physical and chemical characteristics of the substrate and monitored plant growth. The objective was to determine an optimal ratio of sieved soil to gravel, so as to solve the problem of mixing sieved soil and coarse-grained quarry waste in vegetation restoration. Results Effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on plant growth. Figure 1 illustrates that, for Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng (PS), there were significant differences between treatments in plant height, stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight ( P < 0.001). Specifically, the plant height and stem and leaf dry weight of M3, M5 and M7 treatments were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.001). The stem and leaf fresh weight and root dry weight of M3 and M5 treatments were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.001). It was the highest in the M7 treatment, the stem and leaf fresh weight and the stem and leaf dry weight were the highest in the M3 treatment, and the root dry weight was the highest in the M5 treatment. For Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum (Cg), there were significant differences among treatments in plant height, dry weight of stems and leaves, fresh weight of stems and leaves, and dry root weight ( P < 0.05). The plant height, dry weight of stems and leaves, fresh weight of stems and leaves, and dry root weight of the M2 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.05). For Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv (Sg), there were significant differences between the treatments in stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight ( P < 0.05). The plant height of treatments CK, M3 and M7 was higher than that of other treatments, the fresh weight of stems and leaves of M3 and M7 treatments was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), the dry weight of stems and leaves of M3 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), M2, M3, M5, M7 and M9 treatments were significantly higher than other treatments ( P < 0.05), and plant height, stem and leaf fresh weight, stem and leaf dry weight and root dry weight were the highest in the M3 treatment. For Periploca sepium Bunge (Ps), there were significant differences in stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight among the treatments ( P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in plant height among the treatments. The stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight and root dry weight of the M3 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.05), and the plant height of M3 treatment was higher than that of other treatments. For mugwort (Ag), there were significant differences between treatments in dry weight of stems and leaves, fresh weight of stems and leaves, and dry root weight ( P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in plant height between treatments. The plant height of M7 treatment was higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), the fresh weight of stems and leaves of M3 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), and the dry weight of stems and leaves and root dry weight of M5 treatment were significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05). Effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix. Figures 2 and 3 display significant differences in parameters like pH, AN, AK, AP, TN, TK, and TP across different treatments for multiple plants. For PS, CK treatment exhibited the highest pH, AP, and TP levels ( P < 0.05), the AK in M6 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), and the AN and TN in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.05). For Cg, the pH in CK, M1 and M9 treatments was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), the AN in M4, M6 and M8 treatments was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), the AK and AP of M7 and M8 treatments were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.05), while M6 had higher TN, TK, and TP ( P < 0.05). In Sg, the AP, TK and TP in the CK treatment were significantly higher than those in other treatments ( P < 0.05), the pH in M1 treatment was significantly higher than that in other treatments ( P < 0.05), and the AN and AK in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those in other treatments ( P < 0.05), while M4, M7, and M8 treatments had increased TN ( P < 0.05). For Ps, the pH, TK and TP in CK treatment were significantly higher than those of the other treatments ( P < 0.05). The AN and TN in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those of the other treatments ( P < 0.05), while M2, M8, and M9 treatments had elevated AK levels and M2 and M8 treatments exhibited the highest AP ( P < 0.05). For Aa, M5 and M9 treatments displayed the highest pH ( P < 0.05). The AN, AK, AP and TN in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments ( P < 0.05). The TK in M5 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments ( P < 0.05), the TP in CK treatment was significantly higher than that in other treatments ( P < 0.05). PCA analysis of mixed substrate properties and plant growth under different water and fertilizer treatments. We applied principal coordinate analysis (PCA) based on the Bray-Curtis algorithm to analyze the changes in the mixed matrix properties and plant growth conditions of the tailings waste, and determine the effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the matrix properties and plant growth of the tailings waste (Fig. 4 ). The total variance explained for Pa, Cg, Sg, Ps and Aa exceeded 60%, with an R > 0. This underscore distinct differences in tailings waste matrix and plant growth properties under different water and fertilizer treatments. The ANOSIM test found that water and fertilizer treatment significantly affected the substrate properties and plant growth properties of Pa, Cg, Sg, Ps and Aa ( P < 0.05). Correlation ecological network analysis of physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix and plant properties. An ecological network analysis illustrated the correlation between the physical and chemical properties of tailings waste and plant properties, as presented in Fig. 5 . For Pa, pH and TP exhibited a positive correlation with root dry weight, plant height, and stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). Similarly, for Cg, a significant positive relationship was observed between pH, TP, and the aforementioned plant metrics, and there was a significant positive relationship between root dry weight, plant height, stem and leaf fresh weight, and stem and leaf dry weight. For Sg, pH demonstrated a positive correlation with root dry weight, plant height, and stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). TP and AP were both positively associated with plant height. TK showed a positive relationship with plant height as well as stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). Additionally, TN was positively correlated with stem and leaf weights. A significant positive correlation was observed between all these plant metrics. For Ps, TK, TP, and pH all exhibited positive correlations with root dry weight, plant height, and stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). Conversely, TN was positively associated with plant height and stem and leaf weights. Notably, a significant positive relationship was observed across these plant parameters. In Aa, pH displayed a positive correlation with all mentioned plant metrics, while both TP and TK were positively correlated with root dry weight and stem and leaf weights. Structural equation model analysis of physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix and plant properties. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was constructed to analyze the impact of various water and fertilizer treatments on the physicochemical and plant characteristics of tailings waste (Fig. 6 ). The combined effects of water-fertilized substrate and soil physicochemical attributes accounted for the observed plant growth patterns. In the case of Pa, these combined factors explained 83% of the variation in plant growth. The water-fertilized substrate showed a significant direct positive influence on plant growth. Meanwhile, pH and TK exerted a direct, albeit not significant, positive effect on plant growth. Conversely, AP and AN demonstrated a significant direct negative influence on plant growth. Water-fertilized substrates exhibited significant direct positive impacts on both TN and AN while showing significant direct negative effects on pH and TK. For Cg, the combined influence of the water-fertilized substrate and soil physicochemical characteristics accounted for 43% of the variation in plant growth. AN demonstrated a significant direct positive influence on plant growth, whereas TK exerted a direct positive influence, though it was not statistically significant. Additionally, the water-fertilized substrate significantly and directly influenced TN and AN in a positive manner, but negatively impacted pH. For Sg, the combined factors of water, fertilizer substrate, and soil physico-chemical properties explained 52% of plant growth variance. The water-fertilizer substrate significantly and positively influenced plant growth. While TN, AK, and TK positively affected plant growth, these effects were not statistically significant. Conversely, AP and AN significantly and negatively impacted plant growth. Moreover, water-fertilized substrates significantly boosted levels of TN and AN. For Ps, a combination of water, fertilizer substrate, and soil physicochemical properties accounted for 65% of the variance in plant growth. The water-fertilizer substrate, TN, pH, and TK exerted positive effects on plant growth, although these were not statistically significant. In contrast, AK and TP significantly and negatively impacted plant growth. Furthermore, the water-fertilizer substrate notably enhanced AN levels while detrimentally affecting pH. For Aa, the combined influence of water, fertilizer substrate, and soil physicochemical properties accounted for 70% of the variation in plant growth. Although the water-fertilizer substrate, TP, and TK had positive impacts on plant growth, these were not statistically significant. Notably, the water-fertilizer substrate significantly increased levels of AN, TN, and AK, while concurrently decreasing pH values. Discussion Soil nutrients are the basis for plant growth and development, and vegetation plays an important and decisive role in soil nutrient availability and biological processes 16 . Plants cultivated on tailings often exhibit stunted growth and withered stems and leaves. This is primarily attributed to the tailings substrate's limited nutrient content, poor water retention capacity, and the absence of vital elements such as organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus, which are essential for plant growth 17 . Among the various slag mix treatments, the M5 treatment demonstrated superior efficacy in augmenting the height, stem and leaf dry weight, fresh weight, and root dry weight of Pa and Aa. The M2 treatment showed similar effects on Cg, while the M3 treatment notably enhanced the aforementioned metrics in both Sg and Ps. This improvement can be primarily attributed to the conditioner's organic matter content and the abundant nutrients present in the original soil, which together furnish adequate nutrients essential for plant growth. Additionally, water supplementation enhances the substrate's water retention capability, thereby further boosting soil fertility. 18 . This correlation was further verified by the positive correlation of plant height, stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight with the nutrient elements of the tailing substrate. The main mechanism of action may be that the nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium-source amendments increase the metabolic activity of soil microorganisms, which promotes the soil maturation process of the tailings substrate and facilitates the settlement and growth of plants 19 – 21 . The observations align with findings from earlier research. Specifically, Pardo et al enhanced mine soil using pig manure and compost, noting a marked increase in the contents of water-soluble carbon, water-soluble nitrogen, effective phosphorus, and effective potassium in the treated soil—factors that collectively facilitated plant growth 22 , 23 . However, there was no plant growth in the N treatment at 18 months and 30 months after vegetation restoration. This may be related to the loose structure of the tailings. Solely employing available nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea, exposes the soil to high leaching potential, leading to a nitrogen deficit in subsequent growth stages and resultant seedling mortality 24 , 25 . A larger chemical composition of conditioner and water does not necessarily translate to enhanced plant growth. According to Li et al 26 , 5%, 10% and 15% of attapulgite and biochar were added respectively to complex heavy metal contaminated soil, and the combined application of 10% attapulgite and 10% biochar has the best growth-promoting effect on ryegrass. Soil pH significantly influences soil activity, with changes in microbial substances directly impacting the metabolism, growth, and development of both plants and organisms. The pH level is closely tied to pivotal physical and chemical properties of the soil 27 . In this study, the soil matrix pH for Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng, Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv, Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort consistently exceeded 7.5, indicating alkalinity. Furthermore, the nutrient levels of these soils fall within an optimal pH range. The increased alkalinity of tailings primarily arises from the anions of alkaline substances absorbing the tailings' cations 28 . The inherent low pH of the original soil can either neutralize the tailings' alkalinity or, possibly, the selective enrichment of alkaline ions within the plant rhizosphere can reduce soil alkalinity 29 . From another perspective, the application of compound amendments improves the pH-improving effect of herbs and is beneficial to tailings remediation. Soil nutrients are crucial for plant growth and development 30 . Plants can either directly absorb mineral nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from the soil or assimilate them after transformation 31 . The composite improver enhanced the levels of macronutrients in the tailings, including TK, AK, TN, and AP. This enrichment is likely attributed to the combined effects of the original soil, nitrogen fertilizers, and water, which augmented the nutrient content, specifically N, P, and K 32 . Relative to the CK group, the AK content in planting areas treated with compound amendments exhibited an upward trajectory. The primary source of this potassium is the potassium-bearing minerals in the soil's parent material 33 . However, as the soil's pH decreases, its potassium fixation capability diminishes. Consequently, there is an elevation in the tailings' AK content, and the slow-releasing potassium in the tailings is transformed into readily available forms. Simultaneously, the soil experiences an increase in H + concentration, non-specifically adsorbed potassium in colloids, water-soluble potassium, and exchangeable potassium, all influencing plant responses 33 . In addition, the contents of total phosphorus and available phosphorus in each plant planting area were lower than those in the CK treatment. This decrease may be attributed to the shift in soil pH affecting phosphorus content. As water-soluble phosphorus is progressively released and assimilated by plants, the effective phosphorus content of the tailings diminishes 34 . Moreover, in alkaline soils, phosphorus readily reacts with calcium, predominantly forming low-solubility calcium phosphate salts, which curtail the availability of phosphorus and result in a reduced effective phosphorus content 35 . Conclusions In conclusion, a blend of raw soil and slag primarily serves as a substrate for plants. Distinguishing itself from prior research, this study utilizes a composite of original soil, slag, nitrogen fertilizer, and water as amendments for tailings remediation. Tailings replace guest soil as plant growth substrate for ecological restoration of mines. The results show that the application of compound amendments can significantly improve the physical and chemical properties of tailings and promote plant growth. The M5 treatment was beneficial to the growth of Pennisetum alopecuroides (L) Spreng and mugwort, the M2 treatment was beneficial to the growth of Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum , and the M3 treatment was beneficial to the growth of Setaria glauca (L) Beauv and Periploca sepium Bunge . Therefore, applying an appropriate proportion of compound amendments to plant plants can more effectively improve the comprehensive physical and chemical properties of tailings. In addition, on the basis of this study, future research can focus on improving the phytoremediation effect and microbial activity of tailings by compound amendments. Materials and Methods Experimental materials. The study utilized highly stress-resistant native plants including Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng , Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum , Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv , Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort ( Artemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant .), with mature seeds harvested in 2020. The field topsoil chosen as the planting medium is characterized by the following properties: pH of 7.78, organic matter content of 18.20 g/kg, total nitrogen of 1.69 g/kg, total phosphorus of 0.68 g/kg, total potassium of 20.53 g/kg, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen of 58.20 mg/kg, available phosphorus of 3.08 mg/kg, and available potassium of 165.94 mg/kg. Experimental design. The plant pot screening test utilized a three-factor pot control experiment, focusing on substrate, fertilizer, and water (Table 1 ). The three substrate treatments had varying mixing ratios of raw soil to slag (with a particle size of ≤ 1 ~ 2cm) being 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2. Each pot was filled with a mixture weighing 2500g. For the 3 nitrogen fertilizer treatments, the applied nitrogen fertilizer is urea, which is converted into the amount of flower pot soil applied per unit area according to the application amount and area of the field (the depth of the planting layer is calculated according to 20cm). Specifically, application rates are 1g, 2g and 3g per pot respectively, and the corresponding field application rates are 200kg/km 2 , 400kg/km 2 and 600kg/km 2 respectively. The three water treatments are 30%, 45% and 45% of the maximum field water holding capacity respectively. 60%. Employing the 3414 optimal experimental design and including controls, the study incorporated a total of 10 treatments. Each treatment had three replicates, resulting in 30 pots per plant. Table 1 3414 optimal experimental design Treatment naming Treatment A: matrix B: Water (%) C: Urea (g) M1 original soil: slag = 2:1 30 1 M2 original soil: slag = 2:1 45 2 M3 original soil: slag = 2:1 60 3 M4 original soil: slag = 1:1 45 3 M5 original soil: slag = 1:1 60 1 M6 original soil: slag = 1:1 30 2 M7 original soil: slag = 1:2 60 2 M8 original soil: slag = 1:2 30 3 M9 original soil: slag = 1:2 45 1 CK original soil 45 0 Experimental test indicators and methods. Seedling cultivation was conducted in the greenhouse. Once the seedlings had fully emerged, uniformly grown specimens were chosen for transplantation. Subsequently, a controlled potted experiment was initiated to examine the effects of water and fertilizer stress. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied in stages, and water control commenced upon reaching the specified treatment level. Watering was conducted gently to maintain this level. The stress treatment concluded after 30 days of simultaneous nitrogen and water regulation. After recording plant height, above-ground plant parts were harvested, and both soil samples and plant roots were collected. Plant samples were dried at 105°C to determine the dry weights of stems, leaves, and roots. The pH of the soil was measured using a pH meter with a soil-to-water ratio of 1:2.5 extract. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was calculated using the dichromate oxidation method 36 . Soil total nitrogen (TN) was determined using the Kjeldahl method 37 . The molybdenum blue method was used to determine soil total phosphorus (TP) 38 .Flame photometry was used to measure soil total potassium (TK) and available potassium (AK) 39 , alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AN) was measured using the alkaline hydrolysis diffusion method. Soil phosphorus (AP) was determined through the application of the Olsen method 40 . Statistical analyses. The significance of the differences between soil physical and chemical indicators and plant growth status indicators was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparisons (LSD method, P = 0.05) in SPSS 26.0 software. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the R software "stats" package. Through dimensionality reduction, the similarities and differences between plants were qualitatively analyzed to find out the potential principal components that affect plant composition differences. In order to further determine whether the differences between groups are statistically significant, the R software "vegan" package was used to perform ANOSIM analysis to test the significance of the differences. The Pearson test mainly analyzes the correlation between plant growth conditions and physical and chemical factors through the correlation ecological network. The histogram is drawn using Original 2021, which mainly analyzes soil physical and chemical indicators and plant growth status indicators, and AI (Adobe Illustrator CS6) software is used for graphic modification. Declarations Author Contributions： Conceptualization, G.R., Y.Y. and H.J.L.; methodology, G.S., A.X.J. and L.Y.; software, L.Y.P., L.Y. and Z.R.P.; investigation, L.Y.C.; resources, L.Y.C. and G.R.; data curation, Y.Y. and H.J.L.; writing—original draft preparation, L.Y.C.; writing—review and editing, G.R.; visualization, G.S. and A.X.J.; supervision, L.Y.P. and Z.R.P.; project administration, L.Y.C.; funding acquisition, G.R.All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Financial support: This work was supported by the Hebei Province Geological Exploration Special Fund Project "Hebei Province Taihang Mountain Mine Tunnel Face Treatment Technology Experimental Project (454-0601-YBN-GG20). Research statement involving plants: Experimental research and field studies on plants (either cultivated or wild), including the collection of plant material, was carried out in accordance with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and legislation. Data availability statements: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. References Yan S, Tang G, Zhou CQ, Guo X. Computational fluid dynamics modeling of combustion characteristics of a CH4/O2 Combustor in a copper anode furnace. ACS omega. 2019;4(7):12449-12458. Soltani N, Keshavarzi B, Moore F, Sorooshian A, Ahmadi MR. Distribution of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in tailings, soils, and plants around Gol-E-Gohar iron mine, a case study in Iran. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2017;24:18798-18816. Valentín-Vargas A, Neilson JW, Root RA, Chorover J, Maier RM. 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Phytoremediation of multi-metal contaminated mine tailings with Solanum nigrum L. and biochar/attapulgite amendments. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2019;180:517-525. Huang C-C, Liang C-M, Yang T-I, Chen J-L, Wang W-K. Shift of bacterial communities in heavy metal-contaminated agricultural land during a remediation process. PLOS ONE. 2021;16(7):e0255137. Dzurendova S, Zimmermann B, Kohler A, et al. Microcultivation and FTIR spectroscopy-based screening revealed a nutrient-induced co-production of high-value metabolites in oleaginous Mucoromycota fungi. PLOS ONE. 2020;15(6):e0234870. Liu H, Zhao P, Qin S, Nie Z. Chemical Fractions and Availability of Zinc in Winter Wheat Soil in Response to Nitrogen and Zinc Combinations. Frontiers in plant science. 2018;9:1489. Jabborova D, Sayyed RZ, Azimov A, et al. Impact of mineral fertilizers on mineral nutrients in the ginger rhizome and on soil enzymes activities and soil properties. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 2021;28(9):5268-5274. He J, Shi Y, Zhao J, Yu Z. Strip rotary tillage with a two-year subsoiling interval enhances root growth and yield in wheat. Scientific Reports. 2019;9(1):11678. Zheng S, Zhang J, Chi F, et al. Response of the chemical structure of soil organic carbon to modes of maize straw return. Scientific Reports. 2021;11:6574. Aruna Olasekan A, Olaniran A, Tolulope A, et al. Effects of cow dung and wood biochars and green manure on soil fertility and tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) performance on a savanna Alfisol. Scientific Reports. 2020;10. Nur Aainaa H, Haruna Ahmed O, Ab Majid NM. Effects of clinoptilolite zeolite on phosphorus dynamics and yield of Zea Mays L. cultivated on an acid soil. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(9):e0204401. Naik P, Gurusamy R, Narayanan B, Sakthivel N. Assessment of genetic and functional diversity of phosphate solubilizing fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from rhizospheric soil. BMC microbiology. 2009;8:230. Sanmanee N, Suwannaoin P. Investigation of Organic Carbon using Rapid Dichromate Oxidation in Comparison with Dry Combustion Techniques among Three Groups of Two Different Sizes of Soils. 2009;2:11-14. Brookes P, Landman A, Pruden G, Jenkinson D. Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil biology and biochemistry. 1985;17(6):837-842. Levine H, Rowe JJ, Grimaldi FS. Molybdenum blue reaction and determination of phosphorus in waters containing arsenic, silicon, and germanium. Analytical Chemistry. 1955;27(2):258-262. Shen G, Ju W, Liu Y, Guo X, Zhao W, Fang L. Impact of urea addition and rhizobium inoculation on plant resistance in metal contaminated soil. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2019;16(11):1955. Do M, Horta C, Torrent J, et al. The Olsen P method as an agronomic and environmental test for predicting phosphate release from acid soils. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst. 2007;77:283-292. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Jan, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Nov, 2024 Reviews received at journal 26 Nov, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Oct, 2024 Reviews received at journal 01 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 May, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 May, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 21 May, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 21 May, 2024 Editor invited by journal 08 May, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 08 May, 2024 First submitted to journal 20 Apr, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4296799","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":302392739,"identity":"4a2c64bd-09b6-4102-a1f9-898de1ef107d","order_by":0,"name":"Yanchen Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yanchen","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":302392740,"identity":"10d20d4e-a6a4-44ca-b7c5-71650c9e8f5d","order_by":1,"name":"Yang Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yang","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":302392741,"identity":"8a0914fc-782a-4eae-b5e9-959e4225a8ed","order_by":2,"name":"Jialin He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jialin","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":302392742,"identity":"fba05f37-e129-454e-bf09-5d4d04b02763","order_by":3,"name":"Shan Guo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shan","middleName":"","lastName":"Guo","suffix":""},{"id":302392743,"identity":"09417c96-09e0-45bd-ac11-876faa39fa73","order_by":4,"name":"Xuejing An","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuejing","middleName":"","lastName":"An","suffix":""},{"id":302392744,"identity":"8fa6c930-abab-44ab-a313-51aed76e9574","order_by":5,"name":"Yan Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yan","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":302392745,"identity":"75641c82-e695-4094-a291-b4da0b33ce74","order_by":6,"name":"Rui Guo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA50lEQVRIie3PMWuDQBTA8QPhXC51fdJgvsIDwVDIh7lbbrIlkMUhg9KgQ0yz+jEcO1oOnM49o9IvkGyZ2rq35MzW4X7z+/PeI8Sy/iHqHj+Hc7IKvMVH1vNka04emKYhaBn6laOw1605CSAmMMuVwIpKf9g5Ew5jXYNAHY6PZZSIlBKv2HPDL2+8XzP6spzr6CTe5wR0Vxu2NIgAbPOUxmOiKUF4NiTAERiCqJs4WovcmZLEY8JR1CcpybSEtTKEhod+qRRw3TLjL4viVQ2Xr+/Ac7Psck22gVccbie/sPvGLcuyrD/9AL14SyBM+lw1AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rui","middleName":"","lastName":"Guo","suffix":""},{"id":302392746,"identity":"8a3dbbcd-29be-4326-82c7-cc097f32dd9a","order_by":7,"name":"Yipeng Lin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yipeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Lin","suffix":""},{"id":302392747,"identity":"03b464ab-dfc5-4a70-afa4-9ec264ddff5a","order_by":8,"name":"Ruipeng Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Land and Resources Survey Center, Hebei Provincial Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ruipeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-20 09:25:06","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4296799/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4296799/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87629-w","type":"published","date":"2025-01-25T15:57:38+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":56553245,"identity":"f3a74968-98ba-4f5e-9a34-6a6440019117","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-15 16:43:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":453040,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffects of different water and fertilizer treatments on plant growth. Pa: \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e; Cg: \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e; Sg: \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e; Ps: \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e; Aa: \u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/b88f33171b2a100f97e62517.jpg"},{"id":56553704,"identity":"82a761b4-ce92-4805-98cf-946d0bdf9892","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-15 16:51:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":518793,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the total nutrients of the mixed matrix. Pa: \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e; Cg: \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e; Sg: \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e; Ps: \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e; Aa: \u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/049f03bb42d4759cde8121fa.jpg"},{"id":56553703,"identity":"33c79530-a657-42fb-aa5f-c3878b37c171","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-15 16:51:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":346612,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the available nutrients of the mixed matrix. Pa: \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e; Cg: \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e; Sg: \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e; Ps: \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e; Aa: \u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/0422100164044aa413ac9da9.jpg"},{"id":56553705,"identity":"5687306e-8e7a-4382-9ede-8a4ff04fdf74","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-15 16:51:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":297690,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePCA analysis of mixed substrate properties and plant growth under different water and fertilizer treatments. Pa: \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e; Cg: \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e; Sg: \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e; Ps: \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e; Aa: \u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/63a4ee7da49e23ec7f519e16.jpg"},{"id":56553246,"identity":"303a9417-03bc-4287-991b-ee1792355eba","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-15 16:43:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":640286,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEcological network related to physical and chemical properties of tailings waste and plant properties. Pa: \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e; Cg: \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e; Sg: \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e; Ps: \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e; Aa: \u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e. TN: Total nitrogen; TP: Total phosphorus; TK: Total Potassium; AN: Alkaline hydrolysis of nitrogen; AP: Available phosphorus; AK: Available potassium.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/437592e934434a37e518cd25.jpg"},{"id":56553706,"identity":"296a5c20-8459-4fab-b48e-d89e57d68859","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-15 16:51:14","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":199058,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStructural equation model of physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix and plant properties. Pa: \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e; Cg: \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e; Sg: \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e; Ps: \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e; Aa: \u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e. TN: Total nitrogen; TP: Total phosphorus; TK: Total Potassium; AN: Alkaline hydrolysis of nitrogen; AP: Available phosphorus; AK: Available potassium.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Picture6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/4cdfca83e44f8b092f3435e5.jpg"},{"id":74858436,"identity":"1a9f5ce7-9961-4737-a772-37eaf12945dd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-01-27 16:09:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3204941,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4296799/v1/69245faa-21a9-4231-99fb-59e9a8cdd3e8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the matrix properties and plant growth of tailings waste","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe large-scale extraction of mineral resources has led to a significant increase in tailings waste \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. These tailings possess characteristics such as a loose structure, limited water retention capacity, scarcity of nutrients, and they pose serious environmental threats \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Their environmental impact is enduring, extensive, intense, and regional in nature \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Therefore, identifying a more effective method for the remediation of tailings and management of tailings waste is imperative. The primary techniques for tailings remediation include physical remediation, chemical remediation, and phytoremediation. Conventional physical and chemical remediation approaches often entail drawbacks, including elevated costs, adverse effects on soil properties, and the potential for secondary pollution, thus constraining their applicability. In contrast, phytoremediation has garnered considerable attention due to its efficacy \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The fundamental components of vegetation ecological restoration are plants and substrate. Primarily, the plants involved are local native species known for their robust adaptability. Conversely, the substrate, an equally significant factor, profoundly influences vegetation ecological restoration. This substrate primarily comprises planting soil, fertilizers, and various additives. Distinct proportions affect both the water-related properties of the substrate and the suitability for plant growth. Thus, it's essential that the substrate is enriched with organic matter and the requisite nutrients for plant growth \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. During mining and transportation activities, the inherent structure of the planting soil is compromised, leading to increased porosity, heightened permeability, diminished shear strength, a lax texture, and an unstable physical constitution. When such altered soil is applied directly to compacted layers like storage and transportation platforms without protective interventions, it becomes highly susceptible to severe soil erosion, landslides, and other related geological catastrophes under the influence of wind and water \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince the beginning of the 21st century, infrastructure development in China has witnessed remarkable growth. This surge in demand for building stones has spurred extensive unregulated mining, leading to numerous exposed mines and tailings remnants. To promote sustainable development and safeguard the ecological environment, the government has shuttered many unauthorized mining operations. Nevertheless, addressing the lingering tailings remnants through ecological restoration remains a pressing necessity. In the course of mining and quarrying operations, waste can account for up to 70% of the overall quarry volume. Such accumulated quarry waste not only takes up vast tracts of land but also destroys the landscape and poses safety hazards. Addressing quarry waste disposal is crucial to the ecological restoration of quarry areas \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Quarry waste serves as a raw material in the production of concrete and ceramic tiles, and as a construction material for highways \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. However, most research primarily concentrates on fine particles smaller than 4\u0026ndash;5 mm, with limited studies addressing coarse-grained slag \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.This coarse slag possesses a loose structure, with particles typically in point contact. It is characterized by its high bulk capacity, high shear strength, low subsidence deformation and high permeability. It is exactly complementary to the low shear strength and high compressibility of sieved soil \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Gravel is a prevalent surface cover material, offering protection against the direct impact of wind, wind-sand flow, and rainfall. Numerous studies indicate that gravel coverage effectively reduces slope runoff and soil erosion \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Within soils containing gravel, an increase in gravel content corresponds to a delayed onset of flow production on the slope and alterations in both the quantity and rate of soil infiltration \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIncorporating coarse gravel from quarrying operations with sieved soil can form a suitable substrate for plant growth. This approach not only enhances the physical attributes of the sieved soil but also reduces the quarry spoil volume in quarry site vegetative construction. In this study, gravel was amalgamated with field soil at varying volume ratios to create a planting substrate comprising sieved soil and gravel, intended for plant growth during quarry site rehabilitation. Laboratory potting experiments assessed both the physical and chemical characteristics of the substrate and monitored plant growth. The objective was to determine an optimal ratio of sieved soil to gravel, so as to solve the problem of mixing sieved soil and coarse-grained quarry waste in vegetation restoration.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eEffects of different water and fertilizer treatments on plant growth.\u003c/b\u003e Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e illustrates that, for \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e (PS), there were significant differences between treatments in plant height, stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Specifically, the plant height and stem and leaf dry weight of M3, M5 and M7 treatments were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). The stem and leaf fresh weight and root dry weight of M3 and M5 treatments were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). It was the highest in the M7 treatment, the stem and leaf fresh weight and the stem and leaf dry weight were the highest in the M3 treatment, and the root dry weight was the highest in the M5 treatment. For \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e (Cg), there were significant differences among treatments in plant height, dry weight of stems and leaves, fresh weight of stems and leaves, and dry root weight (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). The plant height, dry weight of stems and leaves, fresh weight of stems and leaves, and dry root weight of the M2 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). For \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e (Sg), there were significant differences between the treatments in stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). The plant height of treatments CK, M3 and M7 was higher than that of other treatments, the fresh weight of stems and leaves of M3 and M7 treatments was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the dry weight of stems and leaves of M3 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), M2, M3, M5, M7 and M9 treatments were significantly higher than other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), and plant height, stem and leaf fresh weight, stem and leaf dry weight and root dry weight were the highest in the M3 treatment. For \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e (Ps), there were significant differences in stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight among the treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), while there was no significant difference in plant height among the treatments. The stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight and root dry weight of the M3 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), and the plant height of M3 treatment was higher than that of other treatments. For mugwort (Ag), there were significant differences between treatments in dry weight of stems and leaves, fresh weight of stems and leaves, and dry root weight (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), while there was no significant difference in plant height between treatments. The plant height of M7 treatment was higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the fresh weight of stems and leaves of M3 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), and the dry weight of stems and leaves and root dry weight of M5 treatment were significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eEffects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix.\u003c/b\u003e Figures\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e display significant differences in parameters like pH, AN, AK, AP, TN, TK, and TP across different treatments for multiple plants. For PS, CK treatment exhibited the highest pH, AP, and TP levels (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the AK in M6 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), and the AN and TN in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). For Cg, the pH in CK, M1 and M9 treatments was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the AN in M4, M6 and M8 treatments was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the AK and AP of M7 and M8 treatments were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), while M6 had higher TN, TK, and TP (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). In Sg, the AP, TK and TP in the CK treatment were significantly higher than those in other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the pH in M1 treatment was significantly higher than that in other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), and the AN and AK in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those in other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), while M4, M7, and M8 treatments had increased TN (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). For Ps, the pH, TK and TP in CK treatment were significantly higher than those of the other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). The AN and TN in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those of the other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), while M2, M8, and M9 treatments had elevated AK levels and M2 and M8 treatments exhibited the highest AP (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). For Aa, M5 and M9 treatments displayed the highest pH (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). The AN, AK, AP and TN in M8 treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). The TK in M5 treatment was significantly higher than that of other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), the TP in CK treatment was significantly higher than that in other treatments (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePCA analysis of mixed substrate properties and plant growth under different water and fertilizer treatments.\u003c/b\u003e We applied principal coordinate analysis (PCA) based on the Bray-Curtis algorithm to analyze the changes in the mixed matrix properties and plant growth conditions of the tailings waste, and determine the effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the matrix properties and plant growth of the tailings waste (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). The total variance explained for Pa, Cg, Sg, Ps and Aa exceeded 60%, with an \u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0. This underscore distinct differences in tailings waste matrix and plant growth properties under different water and fertilizer treatments. The ANOSIM test found that water and fertilizer treatment significantly affected the substrate properties and plant growth properties of Pa, Cg, Sg, Ps and Aa (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eCorrelation ecological network analysis of physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix and plant properties.\u003c/b\u003eAn ecological network analysis illustrated the correlation between the physical and chemical properties of tailings waste and plant properties, as presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e. For Pa, pH and TP exhibited a positive correlation with root dry weight, plant height, and stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). Similarly, for Cg, a significant positive relationship was observed between pH, TP, and the aforementioned plant metrics, and there was a significant positive relationship between root dry weight, plant height, stem and leaf fresh weight, and stem and leaf dry weight. For Sg, pH demonstrated a positive correlation with root dry weight, plant height, and stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). TP and AP were both positively associated with plant height. TK showed a positive relationship with plant height as well as stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). Additionally, TN was positively correlated with stem and leaf weights. A significant positive correlation was observed between all these plant metrics. For Ps, TK, TP, and pH all exhibited positive correlations with root dry weight, plant height, and stem and leaf weights (both fresh and dry). Conversely, TN was positively associated with plant height and stem and leaf weights. Notably, a significant positive relationship was observed across these plant parameters. In Aa, pH displayed a positive correlation with all mentioned plant metrics, while both TP and TK were positively correlated with root dry weight and stem and leaf weights.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eStructural equation model analysis of physical and chemical properties of mixed matrix and plant properties.\u003c/b\u003e A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was constructed to analyze the impact of various water and fertilizer treatments on the physicochemical and plant characteristics of tailings waste (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). The combined effects of water-fertilized substrate and soil physicochemical attributes accounted for the observed plant growth patterns. In the case of Pa, these combined factors explained 83% of the variation in plant growth. The water-fertilized substrate showed a significant direct positive influence on plant growth. Meanwhile, pH and TK exerted a direct, albeit not significant, positive effect on plant growth. Conversely, AP and AN demonstrated a significant direct negative influence on plant growth. Water-fertilized substrates exhibited significant direct positive impacts on both TN and AN while showing significant direct negative effects on pH and TK. For Cg, the combined influence of the water-fertilized substrate and soil physicochemical characteristics accounted for 43% of the variation in plant growth. AN demonstrated a significant direct positive influence on plant growth, whereas TK exerted a direct positive influence, though it was not statistically significant. Additionally, the water-fertilized substrate significantly and directly influenced TN and AN in a positive manner, but negatively impacted pH. For Sg, the combined factors of water, fertilizer substrate, and soil physico-chemical properties explained 52% of plant growth variance. The water-fertilizer substrate significantly and positively influenced plant growth. While TN, AK, and TK positively affected plant growth, these effects were not statistically significant. Conversely, AP and AN significantly and negatively impacted plant growth. Moreover, water-fertilized substrates significantly boosted levels of TN and AN. For Ps, a combination of water, fertilizer substrate, and soil physicochemical properties accounted for 65% of the variance in plant growth. The water-fertilizer substrate, TN, pH, and TK exerted positive effects on plant growth, although these were not statistically significant. In contrast, AK and TP significantly and negatively impacted plant growth. Furthermore, the water-fertilizer substrate notably enhanced AN levels while detrimentally affecting pH. For Aa, the combined influence of water, fertilizer substrate, and soil physicochemical properties accounted for 70% of the variation in plant growth. Although the water-fertilizer substrate, TP, and TK had positive impacts on plant growth, these were not statistically significant. Notably, the water-fertilizer substrate significantly increased levels of AN, TN, and AK, while concurrently decreasing pH values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSoil nutrients are the basis for plant growth and development, and vegetation plays an important and decisive role in soil nutrient availability and biological processes \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Plants cultivated on tailings often exhibit stunted growth and withered stems and leaves. This is primarily attributed to the tailings substrate's limited nutrient content, poor water retention capacity, and the absence of vital elements such as organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus, which are essential for plant growth \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Among the various slag mix treatments, the M5 treatment demonstrated superior efficacy in augmenting the height, stem and leaf dry weight, fresh weight, and root dry weight of Pa and Aa. The M2 treatment showed similar effects on Cg, while the M3 treatment notably enhanced the aforementioned metrics in both Sg and Ps. This improvement can be primarily attributed to the conditioner's organic matter content and the abundant nutrients present in the original soil, which together furnish adequate nutrients essential for plant growth. Additionally, water supplementation enhances the substrate's water retention capability, thereby further boosting soil fertility. \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. This correlation was further verified by the positive correlation of plant height, stem and leaf dry weight, stem and leaf fresh weight, and root dry weight with the nutrient elements of the tailing substrate. The main mechanism of action may be that the nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium-source amendments increase the metabolic activity of soil microorganisms, which promotes the soil maturation process of the tailings substrate and facilitates the settlement and growth of plants \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR20\" citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The observations align with findings from earlier research. Specifically, Pardo et al enhanced mine soil using pig manure and compost, noting a marked increase in the contents of water-soluble carbon, water-soluble nitrogen, effective phosphorus, and effective potassium in the treated soil\u0026mdash;factors that collectively facilitated plant growth \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. However, there was no plant growth in the N treatment at 18 months and 30 months after vegetation restoration. This may be related to the loose structure of the tailings. Solely employing available nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea, exposes the soil to high leaching potential, leading to a nitrogen deficit in subsequent growth stages and resultant seedling mortality \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. A larger chemical composition of conditioner and water does not necessarily translate to enhanced plant growth. According to Li et al \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, 5%, 10% and 15% of attapulgite and biochar were added respectively to complex heavy metal contaminated soil, and the combined application of 10% attapulgite and 10% biochar has the best growth-promoting effect on ryegrass.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSoil pH significantly influences soil activity, with changes in microbial substances directly impacting the metabolism, growth, and development of both plants and organisms. The pH level is closely tied to pivotal physical and chemical properties of the soil \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In this study, the soil matrix pH for Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng, Campsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv, Periploca sepium Bunge and mugwort consistently exceeded 7.5, indicating alkalinity. Furthermore, the nutrient levels of these soils fall within an optimal pH range. The increased alkalinity of tailings primarily arises from the anions of alkaline substances absorbing the tailings' cations \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The inherent low pH of the original soil can either neutralize the tailings' alkalinity or, possibly, the selective enrichment of alkaline ions within the plant rhizosphere can reduce soil alkalinity \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. From another perspective, the application of compound amendments improves the pH-improving effect of herbs and is beneficial to tailings remediation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSoil nutrients are crucial for plant growth and development \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Plants can either directly absorb mineral nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from the soil or assimilate them after transformation \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The composite improver enhanced the levels of macronutrients in the tailings, including TK, AK, TN, and AP. This enrichment is likely attributed to the combined effects of the original soil, nitrogen fertilizers, and water, which augmented the nutrient content, specifically N, P, and K \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Relative to the CK group, the AK content in planting areas treated with compound amendments exhibited an upward trajectory. The primary source of this potassium is the potassium-bearing minerals in the soil's parent material \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. However, as the soil's pH decreases, its potassium fixation capability diminishes. Consequently, there is an elevation in the tailings' AK content, and the slow-releasing potassium in the tailings is transformed into readily available forms. Simultaneously, the soil experiences an increase in H\u003csup\u003e+\u003c/sup\u003e concentration, non-specifically adsorbed potassium in colloids, water-soluble potassium, and exchangeable potassium, all influencing plant responses \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In addition, the contents of total phosphorus and available phosphorus in each plant planting area were lower than those in the CK treatment. This decrease may be attributed to the shift in soil pH affecting phosphorus content. As water-soluble phosphorus is progressively released and assimilated by plants, the effective phosphorus content of the tailings diminishes \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Moreover, in alkaline soils, phosphorus readily reacts with calcium, predominantly forming low-solubility calcium phosphate salts, which curtail the availability of phosphorus and result in a reduced effective phosphorus content \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, a blend of raw soil and slag primarily serves as a substrate for plants. Distinguishing itself from prior research, this study utilizes a composite of original soil, slag, nitrogen fertilizer, and water as amendments for tailings remediation. Tailings replace guest soil as plant growth substrate for ecological restoration of mines. The results show that the application of compound amendments can significantly improve the physical and chemical properties of tailings and promote plant growth. The M5 treatment was beneficial to the growth of \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort, the M2 treatment was beneficial to the growth of \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e, and the M3 treatment was beneficial to the growth of \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e. Therefore, applying an appropriate proportion of compound amendments to plant plants can more effectively improve the comprehensive physical and chemical properties of tailings. In addition, on the basis of this study, future research can focus on improving the phytoremediation effect and microbial activity of tailings by compound amendments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eExperimental materials.\u003c/b\u003e The study utilized highly stress-resistant native plants including \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort (\u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e.), with mature seeds harvested in 2020. The field topsoil chosen as the planting medium is characterized by the following properties: pH of 7.78, organic matter content of 18.20 g/kg, total nitrogen of 1.69 g/kg, total phosphorus of 0.68 g/kg, total potassium of 20.53 g/kg, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen of 58.20 mg/kg, available phosphorus of 3.08 mg/kg, and available potassium of 165.94 mg/kg.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eExperimental design.\u003c/b\u003e The plant pot screening test utilized a three-factor pot control experiment, focusing on substrate, fertilizer, and water (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). The three substrate treatments had varying mixing ratios of raw soil to slag (with a particle size of \u0026le;\u0026thinsp;1\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;2cm) being 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2. Each pot was filled with a mixture weighing 2500g. For the 3 nitrogen fertilizer treatments, the applied nitrogen fertilizer is urea, which is converted into the amount of flower pot soil applied per unit area according to the application amount and area of the field (the depth of the planting layer is calculated according to 20cm). Specifically, application rates are 1g, 2g and 3g per pot respectively, and the corresponding field application rates are 200kg/km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e, 400kg/km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and 600kg/km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e respectively. The three water treatments are 30%, 45% and 45% of the maximum field water holding capacity respectively. 60%. Employing the 3414 optimal experimental design and including controls, the study incorporated a total of 10 treatments. Each treatment had three replicates, resulting in 30 pots per plant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3414 optimal experimental design\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTreatment naming\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTreatment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA: matrix\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eB: Water (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eC: Urea (g)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2:1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2:1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2:1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil: slag\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1:2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCK\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eoriginal soil\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eExperimental test indicators and methods.\u003c/b\u003e Seedling cultivation was conducted in the greenhouse. Once the seedlings had fully emerged, uniformly grown specimens were chosen for transplantation. Subsequently, a controlled potted experiment was initiated to examine the effects of water and fertilizer stress. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied in stages, and water control commenced upon reaching the specified treatment level. Watering was conducted gently to maintain this level. The stress treatment concluded after 30 days of simultaneous nitrogen and water regulation. After recording plant height, above-ground plant parts were harvested, and both soil samples and plant roots were collected. Plant samples were dried at 105\u0026deg;C to determine the dry weights of stems, leaves, and roots. The pH of the soil was measured using a pH meter with a soil-to-water ratio of 1:2.5 extract. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was calculated using the dichromate oxidation method \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Soil total nitrogen (TN) was determined using the Kjeldahl method \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The molybdenum blue method was used to determine soil total phosphorus (TP) \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.Flame photometry was used to measure soil total potassium (TK) and available potassium (AK) \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AN) was measured using the alkaline hydrolysis diffusion method. Soil phosphorus (AP) was determined through the application of the Olsen method \u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eStatistical analyses.\u003c/b\u003e The significance of the differences between soil physical and chemical indicators and plant growth status indicators was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparisons (LSD method, P\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.05) in SPSS 26.0 software. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the R software \"stats\" package. Through dimensionality reduction, the similarities and differences between plants were qualitatively analyzed to find out the potential principal components that affect plant composition differences. In order to further determine whether the differences between groups are statistically significant, the R software \"vegan\" package was used to perform ANOSIM analysis to test the significance of the differences. The Pearson test mainly analyzes the correlation between plant growth conditions and physical and chemical factors through the correlation ecological network. The histogram is drawn using Original 2021, which mainly analyzes soil physical and chemical indicators and plant growth status indicators, and AI (Adobe Illustrator CS6) software is used for graphic modification.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eAuthor Contributions：\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceptualization, G.R., Y.Y. and H.J.L.; methodology,\u0026nbsp;G.S., A.X.J. and L.Y.; software, L.Y.P.,\u0026nbsp;L.Y. and Z.R.P.;\u0026nbsp;investigation,\u0026nbsp;L.Y.C.;\u0026nbsp;resources,\u0026nbsp;L.Y.C.\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;G.R.; data curation, Y.Y. and H.J.L.; writing—original draft preparation,\u0026nbsp;L.Y.C.; writing—review and editing, G.R.; visualization,\u0026nbsp;G.S. and A.X.J.; supervision,\u0026nbsp;L.Y.P. and Z.R.P.; project administration,\u0026nbsp;L.Y.C.; funding acquisition, G.R.All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConflicts of Interest:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinancial support:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by the Hebei Province Geological Exploration Special Fund Project \"Hebei Province Taihang Mountain Mine Tunnel Face Treatment Technology Experimental Project (454-0601-YBN-GG20).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResearch statement\u0026nbsp;involving plants:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExperimental research and field studies on plants (either cultivated or wild), including the collection of plant material, was carried out in accordance with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and legislation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData availability statements:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYan S, Tang G, Zhou CQ, Guo X. 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The Olsen P method as an agronomic and environmental test for predicting phosphate release from acid soils. \u003cem\u003eNutr Cycl Agroecosyst. \u003c/em\u003e2007;77:283-292.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4296799/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4296799/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePhytoremediation is widely regarded as the most environmentally sustainable green technology for remediating mineral waste. The appropriate ratio of amendments can improve the substrate environment for plant growth and improve the repair efficiency. Study its improvement effect on tailings wasteland from the aspects of plant growth and nutritional elements. Considering that, this study explored the effects of water and fertilizer treatment on the physical and chemical properties and plant growth of quarry waste matrix with different ratios. The original soilwithout fertilizer and 45% water treatment was used as the control group (CK), and and the composite soil with different ratios of original soil and slag and various water and nitrogen fertilizer treatment combinations was used as the experimental group. \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort (\u003cem\u003eArtemisia argyi Levl. Et Vant\u003c/em\u003e.)were planted in the control group and the experimental group respectively. After 30 days of nitrogen fertilizer and water treatment, an analysis was conducted to assess the physicochemical properties and the plant growth status of the tailing matrix for each experimental treatment. The results showed that the M5 treatment fostered the growth of \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort, while the M2 treatment promoted the growth of \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e, and the M3 treatment was beneficial to the growth of \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e. The soil matrix pH of \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003esetaria glauca (L.) Beauv, and\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort are all greater than 7.5, and macronutrient elements such as TK, AK, TN, AN, TP, and AP all have certain levels of improvement. PCA analysis showed that there were significant differences in substrate properties and plant growth properties between treatments for \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;0.05). Correlation network and structural equation analysis showed that the water and fertilizer10 matrix had a significant positive correlation with soil AN and TN (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026lt;0.05), and TK had a positive correlation with the growth status of five plants. The water and fertilizer substrate has a positive correlation with the growth status of \u003cem\u003ePennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSetaria glauca (L.) Beauv\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePeriploca sepium Bunge\u003c/em\u003e and mugwort, and a negative correlation with the growth status of \u003cem\u003eCampsis grandiflora (Thunb.) Schum\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Effects of different water and fertilizer treatments on the matrix properties and plant growth of tailings waste","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-05-15 16:43:09","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4296799/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-11-27T10:01:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-11-26T08:57:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"142899028081034237041141527342920080908","date":"2024-10-21T07:46:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-06-01T17:26:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"47489077862509191556292214450284359281","date":"2024-05-30T01:44:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"190690879999716591182830111852603624396","date":"2024-05-23T02:50:17+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-05-21T14:07:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-05-21T14:04:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2024-05-08T20:53:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-05-08T20:49:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2024-04-20T09:21:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f49ae36c-3bd6-4acb-ab8d-44b6bc6855fe","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 15th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":31906957,"name":"Biological sciences/Plant sciences"},{"id":31906958,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology"},{"id":31906959,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-01-27T16:02:05+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4296799","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87629-w","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-01-25 15:57:38","publishedOnDateReadable":"January 25th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-05-15 16:43:09","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-87629-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87629-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4296799","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4296799","identity":"rs-4296799","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}