Improving the phytoremediation of heavy metals contaminated soil by use of sewage sludge

Abstract

Sewage sludge, in particular from the food industry, is characterized by fertilizing properties, due to the high content of organic matter and nutrients. The application of sewage sludge causes an improvement of soil parameters as well as increase in cation exchange capacity, and thus stronger binding of cations in the soil environment, which involves the immobilization of nutrients and greater resistance to contamination. In a field experiment sewage sludge has been used as an additive to the soil supporting the phytoremediation process of land contaminated with heavy metals (Cd, Zn, and Pb) using trees species: Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), and oak (Quercus robur L.). The aim of the research was to determine how the application of sewage sludge into the soil surface improves the phytoremediation process. The conducted field experiment demonstrated that selected trees like Scots pine and Norway spruce, because of its excellent adaptability, can be used in the remediation of soil. Oak should not be used in the phytoremediation process of soils contaminated with high concentrations of trace elements in the soil, because a significant amount of heavy metals was accumulated in the leaves of oak causing a risk of recontamination.

Long-term responses of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) to the contamination of light soils with diesel oil

“…The Scots pine thrives in nearly all types of habitats, on dry and infertile as well as fertile and moist soils (Muilu-Mäkelä et al 2015 ). This pioneer species grows on nutrient-deficient soils, and it is the ideal candidate for soil reclamation, remediation, and reforestation in Central Europe (Pietrzykowski et al 2013 ; Placek et al 2016 ).…”

“…Phytoremediation methods rely on plant species that rapidly adapt to degraded environments and are capable of producing large quantities of biomass (Cook and Hesterberg 2013 ; Dudai et al 2018 ). The Scots pine is one of such species (Placek et al 2016 ), whereas the use of European beech for phytoremediation has not been described in the literature.…”

The evaluation of growth and phytoextraction potential of Miscanthus x giganteus and Sida hermaphrodita on soil contaminated simultaneously with Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn

“…The metal content in the soil and organic matter content influence the concentration of HMs in the plant. However, the role of organic matter is not clear, as results show that application of organic matter as a support in phytoremediation stimulates coniferous trees to collect greater amounts of Cd but smaller amounts of Pb (Placek et al 2016). Minor accumulation could be attributed to that with a significant presence of organic matter, heavy metals are to a greater extent adsorbed by the soil complex, immobilized and less accessible for a plant (Pikuła and Stepien 2007;Chłopecka and Adriano 1997;Nawab et al 2016).…”

Biochar: A Sustainable Approach for Improving Plant Growth and Soil Properties

“…Addition of biochar in the soil can be extremely useful to improve the soil quality, as well as to stimulate the plant growth, and thus, biochar can play an important role in developing a sustainable system of agriculture. Several uses and positive effects of biochar amendment have currently been considered as an effective method to reclaim the contaminated soil [21] and to achieve high crop yields without harming the natural environment. The positive influence of biochar on plant growth and soil quality suggests that using biochar is a good way to overcome nutrient deficiency, making it a suitable technique to improve farm-scale nutrient cycles.…”