ABSTRACT

The application of compost during cultivation of energetic plants was easier and more socially acceptable than the use of wastewater or sewage sludge due to lower odour nuisance.

Plants which may effectively absorb heavy metals from the soil should be characterized by: rapid growth, high biomass yield, ease of harvest, deep root system and accumulation of large amounts of those metals in the overground parts (Karczewska 2008). The effectiveness of phytoextraction of heavy metals from soil depends on the amount of water passing through the plant per unit of time. Therefore, it is considered that willow is well suited for this purpose, and it has a high water demand (Żurek & Majtkowski 2009). Among the species of willow, Salix viminalis can absorb 217 g⋅ha−1 of cadmium from soil and Salix caprea has the ability to absorb 2,340 g⋅ha−1 of zinc, 76 g⋅ha−1 of copper, 242 g⋅ha−1 of lead and 41 g⋅ha−1 of cadmium (Żurek & Majtkowski 2009). Heavy metals content in plants varies depending on their ability to move from soil to shoots. The arrangement of soil to shoots transportation of heavy metal ions is in accordance with their decreasing mobility: Cd > Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb (Starck 2002).