ABSTRACT
Phytoremediation is the use of green plants and their associated rhizosphere microflora to remove, degrade, or stabilize complex environmental contaminants. Most current phytoremediation applications take advantage of the integrated biological activities of both a plant and its associated microbial communities. Microbial communities in the rhizosphere, the adjacent soil or water, and on the plant surfaces (e.g., leaves and shoots) can play an important role in remediation events occurring in the plant-microbe system. Various types of vegetation, including trees, grasses, and aquatic plants, are used in situ to decontaminate air, soil, and surface and groundwater systems. The use of plants to treat contaminated environments is not a new phenomenon. Cunningham et al. (1995) briefly described the historical use of aquatic plants for water remediation and noted that the ability of other plants to “remove airborne contaminants is also well known.” Many accepted agricultural techniques for cultivating, harvesting, and processing plant materials have been adapted for phytoremediation applications, as have many conventional or common methods used to treat traditional pollutants such as sewage, food industry wastes, and industrial effluents.
