Contaminated land degradation

A further application of the manipulation of microbial activity in the rhizo-sphere is their potential to remediate contaminated land. Bioremediation involves the u.se of microorganisms that break down contaminants. Radwan et al. (255) found that the soil associated with the roots of plants grown in soil heavily contaminated with oil in Kuwait was free of oil residues, presumably as a result of the ability of the resident rhizosphere microflora to degrade hydrocarbons. The use of plants as a means to accumulate pollutants such as heavy metals (256,257) to degrade hydrocarbons and pesticides (255) is already widely implemented and has proven to be successful. In some cases, there is no doubt that it is the plant itself that is responsible for the removal of the contaminants. However, in most... 

An industrial waste is defined as an unwanted by-product or damaged, defective, or superfluous material of a manufacturing process. Most often, it has or is perceived to have no value. It may or may not be harmful or toxic if released to the environment. Pollution is any release of waste to the environment (i.e., any routine or accidental emission, effluent, spill, discharge, or disposal to the air, land, or water) that contaminates or degrades the environment. 

Pachur HJ, Ahrens M, Ricking M, Roper HP (1993) Heavy metal and chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination of selected aquatic sediments from the Berlin Area. Land Degrad Rehabil 4, 351-360. 

Unregulated dumping of untreated industrial, municipal, agricultural wastes and mining give rise to land degradation. Heavy metals like mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel and arsenic cause serious land pollution problems. For example, in Japan, waste from the mines and factories located in agricultural areas have been found to have contaminated the soil with heavy metals (see Chapter 12 for more information on... 

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