Rekultywacja gleb skażonych metalami ciężkimi metodą fitostabilizacji wspomaganej

Abstract

The main anthropogenic sources of heavy metals in the environment are mining and smelting, refining and chemical industry, industrial and municipal wastes, transport as well as fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture. Among all heavy metals, Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni and Zn are of major environmental and human health concern. The high toxicity of heavy metals causes the need to remove them from the contaminated soil using minimally invasive remediation solutions, called gentle remediation options (GRO). One of the attractive methods to reduce the labile fractions and toxicity of heavy metals in soil seems to be aided phytostabilization. It is a combination of phytostabilization using plants tolerant to trace metals and stabilizing soil against erosion with the initial chemical immobilization achieved by adding various organic and inorganic additives. The potential toxicity of trace elements depends on their specific form present in the environment, their reactivity, mobility, concentration and their availability to living organisms. The bioavailability of heavy metals in soil is constantly changing and depends on different physicochemical, biological and environmental parameters. Due to the fact that microorganisms respond quickly to the presence of stressors in the environment, the changes in metabolic activity, size and structure can be used as good indicators of the effectiveness of applied remediation technology for cleaning up contaminated sites and ecosystem quality.