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Phytoremediation: The Utilization of Plants to Reclaim Polluted Sites

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Plants and Heavy Metals

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science ((SB BIOMETALS))

Abstract

The contamination of water and soil with heavy metals is a serious environmental and health hazard. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove pollutants, and this offers an alternative to conventional clean-up methods which rely on excavation or the application of detergents and other chemicals. The ideal plant for phytoremediation should tolerate heavy metals and accumulate them in the aerial tissues, should produce large amounts of biomass rapidly, and should develop a deep and extensive root system. Biotechnology offers the opportunity to genetically engineer plants that tolerate and accumulate large amounts of heavy metals in their shoots or that chemically transform and volatilize them. The uptake of heavy metals into plants can also be enhanced by the microbial community in the rhizosphere, which can stimulate root proliferation and increase metal bioavailability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134, Verona, Italy

    Andrea Nesler & Antonella Furini

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  1. Andrea Nesler
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  2. Antonella Furini
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Correspondence to Antonella Furini .

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  1. , Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie, Ca Vignal 1 15, Verona, Italy

    Antonella Furini

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Nesler, A., Furini, A. (2012). Phytoremediation: The Utilization of Plants to Reclaim Polluted Sites. In: Furini, A. (eds) Plants and Heavy Metals. SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science(). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4441-7_4

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