Page 90 - Plant-Based Remediation Processes

Chapter 5
Impact of Metal/Metalloid-Contaminated Areas
on Plant Growth

˛
Mirosław Mleczek, Andrzej Mocek, Zuzanna Magdziak, Monika Gasecka,
and Agnieszka Mocek-Pło ´ciniak

5.1 Introduction

The development of industry, improvement of living conditions, and the use of
traditional sources of energy have contributed to a drastic deterioration of the
condition of the natural environment. Its overexploitation has caused soil and
water pollution with several toxic and hazardous chemicals. Heavy metals and
metalloids constitute a special group of pollutants due to their non-biodegradability
as well as ready transport up the trophic chain. The problem of metals/metalloids,
although usually limited to a given surface, is still global in character and should not
be underestimated (Bhargava et al. 2012). Simple and relatively cheap remediation
methods for degraded areas are searched for both in research papers and in
industrial practice. Despite their limitations (Mench et al. 2010), currently applied
biological methods (bioremediation and phytoremediation) are gaining popularity
(Bone et al. 2010; Prasad et al. 2010). In the case of phytoremediation, growth of
vegetation in a polluted area is frequently limited or even inhibited. In extreme
cases we may observe plants withering immediately after planting or shortly
afterwards. For this reason, it is a key element to select appropriate plants
(species/variety), depending on their habitat requirements, adaptability, as well as
characteristics of the polluted area (the type and concentration of pollutants,
availability of water) (Shukla et al. 2011). The application of a specific plant in

˛
M. Mleczek (*) • Z. Magdziak • M. Gasecka
Department of Chemistry, Poznan ´ University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 75, 60-625
Poznan ´, Poland
e-mail: mirekmm@up.poznan.pl
A. Mocek
Department of Soil Science and Land Protection, University of Life Science, Szydłowska 50,
60-656 Poznan ´, Poland
A. Mocek-Pło ´ciniak
Department of General and Environmental Microbiology, University of Life Science, Szydłowska
50, 60-656 Poznan ´, Poland

D.K. Gupta (ed.), Plant-Based Remediation Processes, Soil Biology 35, 79
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35564-6_5, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013