Technogenic grounds are a modern habitat for microorganisms (according to the results of scanning electron microscopy)

The article examines the environmental problems existing in the mining and processing areas of the Siberian region. Information is provided on the development of man-made ore enrichment waste – man-made soils (TG) by microorganisms, which entails negative and positive consequences. It is reported that photoheterotrophic microorganisms are involved in the colonization and transformation of the surface layer of long-term storage facilities for sulfide and sulfoarsenide ore enrichment waste stored in the last century on the daytime surface, in the humid zone of Western Siberia and in the arid zone of Southern Siberia. Electron microscopy of samples of technogenic substrates indicates the presence of metabolically active cyanobacteria and diatoms in them, characteristic of the first stages of regenerative successions of terrestrial ecosystems. The preservation of microorganisms in a vital state is ensured by the colonial lifestyle of unicellular and filamentous individuals, producing abundant mucus. It is noted that the chemical composition of microorganisms, determined using microprobe (spectral) analysis of elements, includes heavy metals and non-metals. It is reported that arsenic is present in significant amounts in the mucus and cytosol of cyanobacteria in extremely extreme living conditions. It is assumed that it is used in anoxygenic photosynthesis to obtain additional energy and nitrogen fixation. Diatoms also produce mucus, but are not involved in the immobilization of arsenic, which is probably due to the mechanisms of biochemical protection. Information is provided on the accumulation of crystalline forms of barite in the humid zone and arsenic minerals in the arid zone in the habitat of cyanobacteria and diatoms. The origin of minerals could be caused by the evaporation effect and microbiological processes. The information obtained can be used to characterize the early stages of soil formation in extreme habitats of man-made landscapes, taken into account when creating nature-like technologies for effective bioremediation of contaminated soils, developing environmentally safe methods of soil conservation, and modeling the processes of autogenic formation of minerals in different natural conditions.