Phytoremediation of chromium polluted soil

ABSTRACT

Heavy metal-contaminated land is an important environmental, health, economic, and planning issue in Egypt. Phytoextraction involves use of plans to remove metals from soil. In a greenhouse experiment, Zea mays, Helianthus annuus and Sorghum bicolor plants were grown in tannery effluent polluted soils and non-polluted reference soils. After 8 weeks of growth, the plants were harvested and the dry weight and the content of Cr were determined. The relationship between mycorrhizae and plans indicates that the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization in all plant species grown in un-polluted soils were higher than plants grown in polluted soil. Roots of all three plan species growing on both soils possessed Arbuscular mycorrhizal [AM] colomization in their roots and AM propagules in the associated rhizospheres. High Cr contents adversely affected the number and diversity of Am SPECIES. The order of Cr foliar accumulation was Z. mays > S. bicolor > H. annus. The effect of AM fungi on heavy metal uptake is dependent upon the initial soil metal concentration. The uptake of heavy metals by Z. mays, H. annus and S. bicolor was affected by the colonization of roots with [AM] fungi