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Journal ArticleDOI

Phytoextraction: The Use of Plants To Remove Heavy Metals from Soils

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TLDR
The high metal accumulation by some cultivars of B. juncea suggests that these plants may be used to clean up toxic metal-contaminated sites in a process termed phytoextraction.
Abstract
A small number of wild plants which grow on metal contaminated soil accumulate large amounts of heavy metals in their roots and shoots This property may be exploited for soil reclamation if an easily cultivated, high biomass crop plant able to accumulate heavy metals is identified Therefore, the ability of various crop plants to accumulate Pb in shoots and roots was compared While all crop Brassicas tested accumulated Pb, some cultivars of Brassica juncea (L) Czern showed a strong ability to accumulate Pb in roots and to transport Pb to the shoots (1083 mg Pb/g DW in the roots and 345 mg Pb/g DW in the shoots) B juncea was also able to concentrate Cr{sup -6}, Cd, Ni, Zn, and Cu in the shoots 58, 52, 31, 17, and 7 fold, respectively, from a substrate containing sulfates and phosphates as fertilizers The high metal accumulation by some cultivars of B juncea suggests that these plants may be used to clean up toxic metal-contaminated sites in a process termed phytoextraction

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Journal ArticleDOI

Effects of phosphate and thiosulphate on arsenic accumulation in the species Brassica juncea

TL;DR: It is suggested that S can influence the interaction between P and As for the uptake by plants, which is of relevance for the phytoremediation of As-contaminated sites.
Book ChapterDOI

How Soil Nutrient Availability Influences Plant Biomass and How Biomass Stimulation Alleviates Heavy Metal Toxicity in Soils: The Cases of Nutrient Use Efficient Genotypes and Phytoremediators, Respectively

TL;DR: In this article, Chatzistathis and Therios describe how Soil Nutrient Availability Influences Plant Biomass and how BiomASS Stimulation Alleviates Heavy Metal Toxicity in Soils.
Journal ArticleDOI

The potential of a Technosol and tropical native trees for reclamation of copper-polluted soils.

TL;DR: Results show that Technosol and both species are useful tools to immobilize copper in polluted soils and further studies are necessary to determine the total capacity of these trees to immobilizing and/or extract copper in the long term and under field conditions.
Journal ArticleDOI

Pot experiment to study the uptake of cd and pb by three indian mustards (brassica juncea) grown in artificially contaminated soils

TL;DR: Experimental result showed that three accessions of Indian mustard can accumulate a high concentration of Cd and Pb when growing in the artificially Cd- and PB-contaminated soils.
Journal ArticleDOI

Plant-induced changes in the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil and biosolids assessed by DGT measurements

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of plants on the available pools of heavy metals and their re-supply potential in contaminated substrates in a short-term experiment using five metal-accumulating willow and poplar species/cultivars and in a longer-term experiment for Salix x reichardtii. Five species of willow and poplar were grown in either soil or biosolids for short-term experiment (4 months). Further investigations of longer-term effects of plant on metal availability were conducted with S. x reichardtii grown in biosolids in a column (100 cm height and 37.5 cm diameter) experiment over a period of 12 months. Samples collected before and after experiments were determined for pH and bioavailability of metals using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT). Various pools of metals in biosolids were determined by sequential extraction. Concentrations of heavy metals in plant material were determined. The concentration of metals determined by DGT (C DGT) and concentration of metals in pore water (C SOL) of Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd in soil and biosolids generally decreased significantly compared to the initial measurements and were usually lower than those of the controls. However, C DGT and C SOL were higher in planted soil compared to those in the controls. There was a negative correlation between Ni, Zn, and Cd in plant shoots and C DGT in both soil and biosolids. The R values, the ratio of C DGT/C SOL calculated for Ni, Cd and Zn of planted substrates, were significantly higher than the corresponding R values of initial substrates. By contrast, R values for Cu showed little change. R values for Ni, Zn, and Cd were higher in planted biosolids compared to the unplanted biosolids. While S. x reichardtii leaf Cd, Ni, and Zn concentrations increased significantly over time, leaf Cu concentration declined. The patterns of plant uptake for the metals reflected the patterns observed by DGT and soil solution measurements of R. Sequential extraction of heavy metals from biosolids after 12 month’s experimentation confirmed that Cu was predominantly in the organic fraction. The short-term effects of plants on the bioavailability of metals in soils and biosolids were different. The R values of cultivated treatments varied between species but were not significantly different from the control in most of the cases. The longer-term experiment indicated that both C DGT and C SOL of Ni, Zn, and Cd decreased significantly over time in both planted and unplanted treatments. The results of this study demonstrated that R values measured by DGT may be useful in assessing the potential bioavailability of heavy metals in soil and biosolids.
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