Abstract
The aims of this presentation are (i) to investigate the opportunity to manipulate metal mobility and enhance the natural attenuation of organic pollutants using plants and, (ii) to evaluate progress made in Europe towards development of methodologies for cost-effective in situ reclamation of contaminated soils and sediments. Field experiments and supporting laboratory studies will be described comparing two approaches: exploiting either the extraordinary uptake characteristics of hyperaccumulator plants, or else using fast-growing biomass plants with lesser (but enhanced) uptake ability. Soil metal profiles and bioavailability of metals are quantified to evaluate the potential for either removal or stabilisation using the two approaches. Biotechnological options are also briefly considered. Ecosystem models, showing mass balance and fluxes of the contaminants under different management scenarios are considered. Whilst short-term experiments have provided encouraging results, the emphasis in this paper is given to the question of the longer*term effectiveness of phytoremediation.
