Rhizoremediation of Metal(loid)-Contaminated Soils
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 2314
Special Issue Editors
Interests: environmental biotechnology; phytoremediation; phytomanagement; microbial assisted phytotechnological approaches; plant-microbe interactions; soil health; development of bioinoculant formulations; effects of climate change and related abiotic stresses on plant growth and development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Center of Excellence for Soil and Fertilizer Research in Africa, AgroBioSciences, Lot 660, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir, Morocco
Interests: environmental science; soil pollution; urban soils; mining soils; metal(loid)s pollution; soil microbiology; bioremediation; phytoremediation; environmental toxicity tests
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil contamination has become a global threat, and therefore, remediation of polluted areas using efficient and sustainable technologies has become a priority worldwide. The use of microbial-assisted phytoremediation approaches to degrade, remove and/or contain contaminants has gaining momentum in the last decades. Rhizoremediation appears as one of the most promising and cost-effective methods for the remediation of contaminated areas. This strategy is focused on the ability of root-associated microorganisms to degrade organic pollutants and transform toxic metals. Root exudates, including organic acids, amino acids, sugars, proteins, alcohols, nucleotides, flavanones, enzymes, and phenolic compounds, stimulate the survival and activity of rhizosphere microbial communities, resulting in a more efficient transformation/degradation of environmental pollutants.
Rhizoremediation contributes to remove from soil a plethora of contaminants such as metals/metalloids, pesticides, herbicides, petroleum products, fly ash, pharmaceuticals, among others.
In the case of metal(loid)s, microorganisms can reduce their toxicity by converting toxic metal(loid)s into non-toxic forms; by increasing their bioavailability enhancing the uptake by plants; or by in situ metal(loid)s stabilization. In addition, there are several tools that may improve the success and efficiency of rhizoremediation, including the biostimulation (e.g addition of organic/inorganic amendments and biosurfactants to induce microbial activity and change soil physicochemical properties), bioaugmentation (e.g. inoculation of microorganisms with specific catabolic ability and/or plant growth promoting traits) and rhizoengineering (e.g. use of genetically modified plants with higher ability to produce root exudates).
The submissions should cover the latest research related to metal(loid)s rhizoremediation. Special emphasis should be also given to new insights regarding the single and/or combined use of soil amendments, bioinoculants, and naturally/genetically adapted plants to enhance the success of rhizoremediation. Additionally, field studies demonstrating the transferability of greenhouse results are clearly insufficient, and therefore required to support the use of rhizoremediation by stakeholders.
Dr. Sofia Isabel Almeida Pereira
Prof. Dr. Ali Boularbah
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- metals
- metalloids
- microorganisms
- soil remediation
- soil health
- inorganic pollutants
- rhizodegradation
- microbial communities
- phytodegradation
- plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
- mycorrhizal fungi
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