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Heavy Metal Contamination and Phytoremediation of Soil and Water: From an Ecological and Sustainable Perspective

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Dear Colleagues,

Soil and water contamination have occurred for a long time. In many cases, these issues are accompanied by industrial and agricultural development. The use of a wide range of heavy metals in many forms and concentrations contaminates soils and watercourses, causing problems for natural resources such as animals, plants, and ecosystems, as well as for the human being. The social and economic pressures from their use have begun to affect society; additionally, the bioremediation of contaminated areas offers promising results and is sustainable in a wide range of areas. Potential technologies and biotechnologies have been developed and green technologies are very important for bioremediation. Indeed, special phytoremediation, with the potential for the decontamination and protection of soil, is well accepted by organizations, researchers, and society, representing an important solution for environmental contamination with heavy metals. This technique exemplifies a sustainable activity that can improve the environment for future generations.

This Special Issue will collect a selection of papers presenting original and innovative contributions to the study of new patterns in phytoremediation, focusing on both the theoretical and pragmatic implications of different phytoremediation techniques. Combined and advanced phytoremediation techniques that use innovative plants and different organisms, such as plants and microorganisms, are welcome. Plant physiology for phytoremediation can be joined to improve the novelty of phytoadsorption, phytostabilization, phytoextraction, and other sustainable techniques.

Society is seeking new sustainable, advanced and green technologies for use to clean up the environment with low cost and efficiency. Phytoremediation offers a route to reach these goals and deliver important results.

Dr. Robson Andreazza
Prof. Dr. Filipe Selau Carlos
Guest Editors

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Keywords

phytoremediation
bioremediation
heavy metals
pollutants
remediation
contaminated soil
contaminated watercourse

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Research

14 pages, 2285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Clipping Intensity on the Physiology of Dicranopteris pedata and Its Interroot Soil in the Rare-Earth-Mining Area in Southern China

by Yu Lin, Zhiqiang Chen, Weiye Li and Zhibiao Chen

Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 664; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020664 - 11 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 651

Abstract

Clipping is crucial during phytoremediation. However, research into the effects of clipping intensity on the physiology of Dicranopteris pedata (D. pedata) and its interroot soil in the rare-earth-mining area in southern China is lacking. A clipping experiment was conducted to verify the phytoremediation effect of D. pedata. The physiology of D. pedata, such as biomass, antioxidant enzymes, chlorophyll, and rare-earth elements (REEs), were determined after clipping. And the microbial community diversity and soil enzyme activities in the interroot soil of D. pedata were investigated. The phytoremediation efficiency was determined at the end of the experiment. The results showed that the compensatory growth effect of D. pedata was stronger with increasing clipping intensity. There was no significant difference in the α diversity of interroot soil microorganisms of D. pedata at different clipping intensities, but β diversity analysis showed that the clipping treatment group deviated from the control group. Only urease activity decreased among the interroot soil enzymes in D. pedata after clipping, while the soil catalase and sucrase were less responsive to clipping. The REEs accumulated by D. pedata were dominated by light REEs in the aboveground part of the plant, while the amounts of light and heavy rare-earth elements accumulated in the underground part of the plant were similar. The phytoextraction of REEs gradually increased with increasing clipping intensity. It was concluded that 100% clipping once a year is the most appropriate when considering D. pedata’s phytoremediation potential and soil system. The time it takes for 100% clipping of D. pedata to reduce the soil TREEs (total rare-earth elements), LREEs (light rare-earth elements), and HREEs (heavy rare-earth elements) to below-average soil REE concentration in China was estimated to be 25.54 years, 19.56 years, and 65.43 years, respectively, which was significantly lower than that for other clipping intensities and the control group. It is concluded that clipping D. pedata is an effective way to promote phytoextraction efficiency in the southern rare-earth-mining areas. The soil can still support the resumption of D. pedata growth after high-intensity clipping. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metal Contamination and Phytoremediation of Soil and Water: From an Ecological and Sustainable Perspective)

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Heavy Metal Contamination and Phytoremediation of Soil and Water: From an Ecological and Sustainable Perspective

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