ABSTRACT
Decontamination of areas contaminated by toxic metals is one of the important research subjects of contemporary science. Cleaning these locations' established physicochemical methods is costly and too often non-ecological. Therefore, of late, some approaches have been formed to develop technologies by utilizing biological systems. Bioremediation is defined as the use of living organisms and their parts (e.g. enzymes) to eliminate or reduce the environmental hazards of toxic elements. This chapter discusses environmental contaminants while dealing with soil, their biodiversity, and the impact of pollutants on the soil ecosystem. It presents the results of experimental studies dealing with the possibilities of remediation of toxic metals by using natural substances based on humic acids as well as the possibility of using modern decontamination technologies. It also evaluates the chemical parameters of soils, biological activity, functional diversity of microorganisms, and the transfer of heavy metals in the soil-plant system of mining degraded soil. The results of this study on the environmental possibilities of soil degradation have shown that humic acid-based natural substances are effective sorbents of contaminants. The Phragmites australis is an appropriate environmental tool for restoring degraded soil.
