Purpose Many agricultural and brownfield soils are polluted and more have become marginalised due to the introduction of new, risk-based legislation. The European Environment Agency estimates that there are at least 250,000 polluted sites in the member states that require urgent remedial action. There is also significant volumes of wastewaters and dredged polluted sediments. Phytotechnologies potentially offer a cost-effective in situ alternative to conventional technologies for remediation of low to mediumcontaminated matrices, e.g. soils, sediments, tailings, solid wastes and waters. For further development, social and commercial acceptance, there is a clear requirement for upto-date information on successes and failures of these technologies based on evidence from the field. This review reports the outcomes from several integrated experimental attempts to address this at both field and market level in the 29 countries participating in COST Action 859. Results and discussion This review offers insight into the deployment of promising and emergent in situ phytotechnologies, for sustainable remediation and management of contaminated soils and water, that integrative research findings produced between 2004 and 2009 by members of COST Action 859. Many phytotechnologies are at the demonstration level, but relatively few have been applied in practice on large sites. They are not capable of solving all problems. Those options that may prove successful at market level are (a) phytoextraction of metals, As and Se from marginally contaminated agricultural soils, (b) phytoexclusion and phytostabilisation of metal-and AsResponsible editor: Stefan Norra M. Mench (*) UMR BIOGECO INRA 1202, Ecologie des Communautés,contaminated soils, (c) rhizodegradation of organic pollutants and (d) rhizofiltration/rhizodegradation and phytodegradation of organics in constructed wetlands. Each incidence of pollution in an environmental compartment is different and successful sustainable management requires the careful integration of all relevant factors, within the limits set by policy, social acceptance and available finances. Many plant stress factors that are not evident in short-term laboratory experiments can limit the effective deployment of phytotechnologies at field level. The current lack of knowledge on physicochemical and biological mechanisms that underpin phytoremediation, the transfer of contaminants to bioavailable fractions within the matrices, the long-term sustainability and decision support mechanisms are highlighted to identify future R&D priorities that will enable potential end-users to identify particular technologies to meet both statutory and financial requirements. Conclusions Multidisciplinary research teams and a meaningful partnership between stakeholders are primary requirements that determine long-term ecological, ecotoxicological, social and financial sustainability of phytotechnologies and to demonstrate their efficiency for the solution of large-scale pollution problems. The gap between research and develop...
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.
Phytotechnologies potentially offer efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for cleanup of contaminated soil and water, improvement of food safety, carbon sequestration, and development of renewable energy sources, all of which contribute to sustainable land use management. Information has been gained at more realistic exposure levels mainly on Cd, Zn, Ni, As, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and herbicides with less on other contaminants. A main goal is a better understanding, at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels, of mechanisms and their regulation related to uptake-exclusion, apoplastic barriers, xylem loading, efflux-influx of contaminants, root-to-shoot transfer, concentration and chemical speciation in xylem/phloem, storage, detoxification, and stress tolerance for plants and associated microbes exposed to contaminants (TE and OX). All remain insufficiently understood especially in the case of multiple-element and mixed-mode pollution. Research must extend from model species to plants of economic importance and include interactions between plants and microorganisms. It remains a major challenge to create, develop, and scale up phytotechnologies to market level and to successfully deploy these to ameliorate the environment and human health.
A procedure was developed to purify simultaneously peroxisomes and mitochondria from spinach (Spirnacia olercea L.) leaf under isoosmotic and low viscosity conditions. This method involved differential centrifugation and density gradient centrifugation on four layers of Percoll.Chlorophyll-free preparations of highly intact and active organelles were obtained and cross-contaminaiton was negligible. Both organelles were stable for several hours, even if they remained in Percoll. Purified mitochondria were able to carry out the oxidation of different substrates with excellent respiratory control and ADP:O ratios. The method described in the present work was also suitable to purify mitochondria and peroxisomes from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.