Phytoremediation: advances in soil contaminant phytoextraction by accumulator and hyperaccumulator plants

Publication date: 12-12-2025
Extent: 20 pages

Contributions by: David W. M. Leung, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Chapter synopsis:

Phytoextraction is the use of plants to remove heavy metal contaminants from agricultural soil and keeping the contaminants inside their own tissues. If the metal accumulator plants, particularly those called hyperaccumulator plants, that can accumulate relatively large quantities of the heavy metals in the above-ground parts such as the leaves and stems, then these tissues could be harvested and moved off the site of contamination for disposal or further processing. Ideally, the plants selected for the phytoextraction purpose can be cultivated for intercropping and are compatible with the crops of interest in the same field with polluted soil. In this chapter, selected studies were discussed regarding their impacts on Cd and Cu phytoextraction research that have emerged from the major contemporary research trends including the strategies to enhance phytoextraction of Cd and Cu contaminants from agricultural and viticultural soils.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2025.0151.17