Phytoremediation
Plants can extract Cd from the
soil and transport it via the xylem into shoots and leaves where it can
accumulate (Blaylock, et al. 1997) . It has been shown that pollutants
can be removed from a contaminated site by harvesting the plant biomass
containing the pollutant. This is referred to as phytoextraction (Chaney,
1983). Sometimes, plants will simply stabilize the contaminant in the soil
through various mechanisms (phytostabilization), and this is also sometimes
desirable (Kabata-Pendius and Pendius, 1992). Other aspects of phytoremediation
focus on the ability of plants to directly or indirectly degrade pollutants
(phytodegradation, phytostimulation, phytovolatilization) but since metals
cannot be degraded the way organic molecules can, only phytoextraction
and phytostabilization are applicable to Cd remediation.
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