ABSTRACT

The problem of heavy metal pollution is emerging as a matter of concern at local, regional and global scales. The metal present in soil-plant system can easily enter into food chain and also cause risk for humans, animals, plants and whole environment of our modern society. Restoration of soils contaminated with potentially toxic metals and metalloids is, therefore, of major global concern. To elevate the negative impacts of heavy metals, remediation techniques are increasingly improved in order to address the growing public pressure to reduce prevailing environmental hazards and to pass the subsequent generations a future worth living. Traditional physical, thermal, chelating, and other chemical techniques often display serious shortcomings such as high cost, excessive expenditure of work, and invasive change of soil properties and microflora. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology that can be considered for remediation of contaminated sites because of its cost effectiveness, aesthetic advantages, and long term applicability. Plants can be used for pollutant stabilization, extraction, degradation, or volatilization. Thus, the present chapter deals with different management approaches to reduce the level of metal contamination in soil and finally to the food chain.