The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils
The use of green plants to remove, contain, inactivate, or degrade harmful environmental contaminants (generally termed phytoremediation) is an emerging technology. In this paper, an overview is given of existing information concerning the use of plants for the remediation of metal-contaminated soil...
Saved in:
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2004-01-01
|
Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2004.2 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
_version_ | 1832560950676291584 |
---|---|
author | Andon Vassilev Jean-Paul Schwitzguebél Theo Thewys Daniël van der Lelie Jaco Vangronsveld |
author_facet | Andon Vassilev Jean-Paul Schwitzguebél Theo Thewys Daniël van der Lelie Jaco Vangronsveld |
author_sort | Andon Vassilev |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The use of green plants to remove, contain, inactivate, or degrade harmful environmental contaminants (generally termed phytoremediation) is an emerging technology. In this paper, an overview is given of existing information concerning the use of plants for the remediation of metal-contaminated soils. Both site decontamination (phytoextraction) and stabilization techniques (phytostabilization) are described. In addition to the plant itself, the use of soil amendments for mobilization (in case of phytoextraction) and immobilization (in case of phytostabilization) is discussed. Also, the economical impacts of changed land-use, eventual valorization of biomass, and cost-benefit aspects of phytoremediation are treated. In spite of the growing public and commercial interest and success, more fundamental research is needed still to better exploit the metabolic diversity of the plants themselves, but also to better understand the complex interactions between metals, soil, plant roots, and micro-organisms (bacteria and mycorrhiza) in the rhizosphere. Further, more demonstration experiments are needed to measure the underlying economics, for publicacceptance and last but not least, to convince policy makers. |
format | Article |
id | doaj-art-6f1d02fbc54a40ec8317bc1859f18f9b |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 1537-744X |
language | English |
publishDate | 2004-01-01 |
publisher | Wiley |
record_format | Article |
series | The Scientific World Journal |
spelling | doaj-art-6f1d02fbc54a40ec8317bc1859f18f9b2025-02-03T01:26:18ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2004-01-01493410.1100/tsw.2004.2The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated SoilsAndon Vassilev0Jean-Paul Schwitzguebél1Theo Thewys2Daniël van der Lelie3Jaco Vangronsveld4Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Agricultural University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, BulgariaLaboratory for Environmental Biotechnology, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, SwitzerlandCentre for Environmental Sciences, Limburgs Universitair Centrum, B-3590 Diepenbeek, BelgiumBrookhaven National Laboratory, Biology Department, Upton, NY 11973, USACentre for Environmental Sciences, Limburgs Universitair Centrum, B-3590 Diepenbeek, BelgiumThe use of green plants to remove, contain, inactivate, or degrade harmful environmental contaminants (generally termed phytoremediation) is an emerging technology. In this paper, an overview is given of existing information concerning the use of plants for the remediation of metal-contaminated soils. Both site decontamination (phytoextraction) and stabilization techniques (phytostabilization) are described. In addition to the plant itself, the use of soil amendments for mobilization (in case of phytoextraction) and immobilization (in case of phytostabilization) is discussed. Also, the economical impacts of changed land-use, eventual valorization of biomass, and cost-benefit aspects of phytoremediation are treated. In spite of the growing public and commercial interest and success, more fundamental research is needed still to better exploit the metabolic diversity of the plants themselves, but also to better understand the complex interactions between metals, soil, plant roots, and micro-organisms (bacteria and mycorrhiza) in the rhizosphere. Further, more demonstration experiments are needed to measure the underlying economics, for publicacceptance and last but not least, to convince policy makers.http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2004.2 |
spellingShingle | Andon Vassilev Jean-Paul Schwitzguebél Theo Thewys Daniël van der Lelie Jaco Vangronsveld The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils The Scientific World Journal |
title | The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils |
title_full | The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils |
title_fullStr | The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils |
title_full_unstemmed | The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils |
title_short | The Use of Plants for Remediation of Metal-Contaminated Soils |
title_sort | use of plants for remediation of metal contaminated soils |
url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2004.2 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT andonvassilev theuseofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT jeanpaulschwitzguebel theuseofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT theothewys theuseofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT danielvanderlelie theuseofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT jacovangronsveld theuseofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT andonvassilev useofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT jeanpaulschwitzguebel useofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT theothewys useofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT danielvanderlelie useofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils AT jacovangronsveld useofplantsforremediationofmetalcontaminatedsoils |