Search

Trace elements pollution of soils became a global concern because of their persistence in the environment which can lead to accumulation in food chains up to toxic levels. At the same time, there is a shortage of arable land for growing food, fodder and industrial crops, which highlights the need for remediation/use of polluted land. Restoration of degraded lands has been included as a vital component of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We summarize various sources of entry of important trace elements in the environment, available biological reclamation and management strategies and their limitations. Recent advances in phytomanagement approaches using aromatic crops to obtain economically valuable products such as essential oils and revalorize such polluted areas are reviewed. The worldwide application of this strategy in the last 10 years is illustrated through a choropleth map. Finally, the emerging concept of phytomanagement as a restorative and regenerative circular bio-economy is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several members of the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae) have a great potential to take up highly hydrophobic compounds, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), from environmental matrices, and translocate them to the aboveground parts of the plants. Moreover, recent research showed that they can effectively enhance the removal of emerging organic pollutants (EOPs) from the environment. Several studies provided evidence that plant-associated microorganisms and root exudates (including plant secondary metabolites, PSMs) can enhance the effective removal of POPs and EOPs from environmental matrices (i.e. soil, sediments, water reservoirs) by cucurbits. Hence, the main aims of this chapter are: (i) to gather information about processes underlying an exceptional ability of cucurbits to accumulate hydrophobic compounds; (ii) to combine the most pronounced and recent data on the removal of POPs and EOPs using cucurbits; and (iii) to point out opportunities and challenges for the use of cucurbits as phytoremediators of polluted environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both developed and developing countries, atmospheric pollution with particulate matter (PM) remains an important issue. Despite the health effects of poor air quality, studies on air pollution are often limited by the high costs of continuous monitoring and the need for extensive sampling. Furthermore, these particles are often enriched with potentially toxic trace elements and organic pollutants. This study evaluates both the composition of atmospheric dust accumulated during a certain timespan on Hedera helix and Senecio cineraria leaves and the potential for their use as bio-monitors. The test plants were positioned near automatic air quality monitoring stations at four different sites with respectively high, moderate and low traffic intensity. The gravimetric deposition of PM10 and PM2.5 on leaves was compared with data recorded by the monitoring stations and related to the weather conditions reported by Argentina's National Meteorological Service. To determine the presence of trace elements enriching the PM deposited on leaves, two analytical techniques were applied: XRF (not destructive) and ICP (destructive). The results indicated that only in the unpaved street location (site 2) did PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations (90 µg m -3 and 9 µg m -3 ) in the air exceed more than five times WHO guidelines (15 µg m -3 and 5 µg m -3 ). However, several trace elements were found to be enriching PM deposited on leaves from all sites. Predominantly, increased concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ti, Mn, Zn and Fe were found, which were associated with construction, traffic and unpaved street sources. Furthermore, based on its capability to sequester above 2800 µg cm -2 of PM10, 2450 µg cm -2 of PM2.5 and trace elements, Senecio cineraria can be taken into consideration for adoption as a bio-monitor or even for PM mitigation.