Chapter 4
Recent Advances in Phytoremediation
of Toxic Metals from Contaminated Sites: A
Road Map to a Safer Environment
Mukesh Kumar Awasthi, Di Guo, Sanjeev Kumar Awasthi, Quan Wang,
Hongyu Chen, Tao Liu, Yumin Duan, Parimala Gnana Soundari,
and Zengqiang Zhang
Abstract Toxic contaminants, or metal and metal-containing compounds, that are
released into the environment from various anthropogenic sources cause severe
environmental problems by destroying soil fertility, causing scarcity of resources
as well as affecting human health. Thus, remediating environmental pollution,
especially heavy metal contamination, is necessary in overcoming negative impacts
on ecosystem health. Heavy metal (HM) contaminants threaten both human and
environmental health. One report states there are more than 1.7 million metalcontaminated sites in central and eastern European countries that require appropriate
reclamation. It was also observed that severe soil and water pollution in developing
countries such as China, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh results from small industrial effluent outputs over and near agricultural areas. Phytoremediation, although it
is not new, is an efficient method to clean up toxic contaminants by employing
different plant species. Although this technology is successful at the laboratory level,
reports underlining the unsuccessful and inconclusive attempts in its use at the field
level encouraged us to critically access why it is not satisfactory in the field, and also
to find evidence that it is a promising remedial strategy without emphasizing
negative perceptions. Analyzing the previous reports suggests two main themes
for our attention. (1) Plant stress factors pose challenges in field application,
although such were negligible with laboratory and greenhouse acclimatization.
(2) Methods of phytoremediation should be assessed because often the decrease in
contaminants is not adequate to demonstrate the occurrence of active remediation.
Keeping these points in mind, this chapter focuses on the challenges in remediation,
emphasizing rhizoremediation with detailed approaches in advanced technologies to
confer environmental safety and assure human health.
M. K. Awasthi · D. Guo · S. K. Awasthi · Q. Wang · H. Chen · T. Liu · Y. Duan · P. G. Soundari ·
Z. Zhang (*)
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi
Province, People’s Republic of China
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
R. N. Bharagava, G. Saxena (eds.), Bioremediation of Industrial Waste for
Environmental Safety, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3426-9_4
77
Recent Advances in Phytoremediation
of Toxic Metals from Contaminated Sites: A
Road Map to a Safer Environment
Mukesh Kumar Awasthi, Di Guo, Sanjeev Kumar Awasthi, Quan Wang,
Hongyu Chen, Tao Liu, Yumin Duan, Parimala Gnana Soundari,
and Zengqiang Zhang
Abstract Toxic contaminants, or metal and metal-containing compounds, that are
released into the environment from various anthropogenic sources cause severe
environmental problems by destroying soil fertility, causing scarcity of resources
as well as affecting human health. Thus, remediating environmental pollution,
especially heavy metal contamination, is necessary in overcoming negative impacts
on ecosystem health. Heavy metal (HM) contaminants threaten both human and
environmental health. One report states there are more than 1.7 million metalcontaminated sites in central and eastern European countries that require appropriate
reclamation. It was also observed that severe soil and water pollution in developing
countries such as China, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh results from small industrial effluent outputs over and near agricultural areas. Phytoremediation, although it
is not new, is an efficient method to clean up toxic contaminants by employing
different plant species. Although this technology is successful at the laboratory level,
reports underlining the unsuccessful and inconclusive attempts in its use at the field
level encouraged us to critically access why it is not satisfactory in the field, and also
to find evidence that it is a promising remedial strategy without emphasizing
negative perceptions. Analyzing the previous reports suggests two main themes
for our attention. (1) Plant stress factors pose challenges in field application,
although such were negligible with laboratory and greenhouse acclimatization.
(2) Methods of phytoremediation should be assessed because often the decrease in
contaminants is not adequate to demonstrate the occurrence of active remediation.
Keeping these points in mind, this chapter focuses on the challenges in remediation,
emphasizing rhizoremediation with detailed approaches in advanced technologies to
confer environmental safety and assure human health.
M. K. Awasthi · D. Guo · S. K. Awasthi · Q. Wang · H. Chen · T. Liu · Y. Duan · P. G. Soundari ·
Z. Zhang (*)
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi
Province, People’s Republic of China
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
R. N. Bharagava, G. Saxena (eds.), Bioremediation of Industrial Waste for
Environmental Safety, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3426-9_4
77