Phytoremediation of Contaminated Agricultural Soils

Abstract

Heavy metals occur naturally, and their density is greater than 4 g/cm3. Heavy metals are used in many industries and disposed into the land and water bodies. In addition to industries other human activities like agriculture and urbanization also add heavy metals to environment. Since heavy metals are non-degradable, they are accumulated in the food chain causing serious damage to human health and the environment. Heavy metal contamination is a major problem in 718 districts of India, where groundwater showed contamination with arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead (Mohan V 2018). Owing to potential toxic effects associated with heavy metals, limiting their content in agricultural soil and drinking water has become a major global concern. Different methods like physical, chemical, and, biological methods are available for heavy metal remediation. Among them, the physical and chemical methods of heavy metal treatment are more costly, ineffective, and time-consuming. Alternatively, the biological method of remediation is considered a good strategy since it is environmentally friendly, simple, and economically viable. The biological method uses fungus, bacteria, enzymes, or green plants for restoring polluted sites. However, there is a need for improvement to make it more efficient.