Mining wastes are generated from mining operations in large volumes, which often have little or no current commercial value, and are usually piled up in dump sites. Waste dumps/tailing are a cost and threat to society, and most conventional remediation approaches do not offer acceptable solutions. Phytoremediation as green, cost-effective, and sustainable remediation technology has been widely accepted by stakeholders, policymakers, and remediation workers. This emerging technology using specially selected and engineered metal-accumulating plants and associated soil microbes are available for various environments and types of contaminants. The selection of appropriate plants/microbes species is very important to ensure a self-sustaining vegetation cover. Metallophytes have peculiar genetic and morphological characteristics, which allow them to develop biological mechanisms to survive and reproduce on contaminated soils without suffering from their toxicity. In recent years, research has focused more on microorganisms- and (In)-organic amendments-assisted phytoremediation strategies, yet approaches are often disparate. These advancements may offer strategies for improving phytoremediation for environmental clean-up and avoiding health hazards.
Through the present topic, we aim:
- Focus on phytoremediation strategies using native metallophytes for the restoration of contaminated landscapes.
- Testing hybrid technologies combining biological, physical, and/or chemical processes with phytoremediation.
- Identification of new metallophytes colonizing contaminated sites and studying their behaviour to cope with the high concentrations of contaminants.
- Deepen our knowledge of the biological mechanisms of toxic metal uptake, translocation, and resistance.
- Advances our current understanding of the plant (and associated microbes) tolerance (physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, ecology, proteomics, and genomics)
- Transition from laboratory to marketplace
This Special Issue will cover the breadth and depth of research areas pertaining to phytoremediation technologies including the treatment of polluted air, soil, sediments, and water with plants and associated amendments and microbes. We encourage research using cutting-edge technologies such as -omics, genome editing, imaging, and papers with significant innovative technologies and creative ideas. We welcome submissions of research articles, update review articles, methods/protocols, and letters to highlight advances in rapidly evolving areas. Potential topics include but are not limited to:
• Soil pollution in an industrial environment;
• Laboratory research and field application of phytoremediation technologies (i.e. Phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytodegradation, phytovolatilization, rhizofiltration);
• Plant selection for the revegetation of contaminated sites, with a focus on native metallophytes;
• Organic and inorganic soil amendments;
• Hybrid technologies combining chemical, physical, and/or other biological processes with phytoremediation.
• Bacteria and mycorrhiza-assisted phytoremediation
• Nanophytoremediation
• Phytomonitoring
Keywords:
Metallophytes, phytoremediation, mycorrhizosphere, soil amendments, environmental pollution.
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Mining wastes are generated from mining operations in large volumes, which often have little or no current commercial value, and are usually piled up in dump sites. Waste dumps/tailing are a cost and threat to society, and most conventional remediation approaches do not offer acceptable solutions. Phytoremediation as green, cost-effective, and sustainable remediation technology has been widely accepted by stakeholders, policymakers, and remediation workers. This emerging technology using specially selected and engineered metal-accumulating plants and associated soil microbes are available for various environments and types of contaminants. The selection of appropriate plants/microbes species is very important to ensure a self-sustaining vegetation cover. Metallophytes have peculiar genetic and morphological characteristics, which allow them to develop biological mechanisms to survive and reproduce on contaminated soils without suffering from their toxicity. In recent years, research has focused more on microorganisms- and (In)-organic amendments-assisted phytoremediation strategies, yet approaches are often disparate. These advancements may offer strategies for improving phytoremediation for environmental clean-up and avoiding health hazards.
Through the present topic, we aim:
- Focus on phytoremediation strategies using native metallophytes for the restoration of contaminated landscapes.
- Testing hybrid technologies combining biological, physical, and/or chemical processes with phytoremediation.
- Identification of new metallophytes colonizing contaminated sites and studying their behaviour to cope with the high concentrations of contaminants.
- Deepen our knowledge of the biological mechanisms of toxic metal uptake, translocation, and resistance.
- Advances our current understanding of the plant (and associated microbes) tolerance (physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, ecology, proteomics, and genomics)
- Transition from laboratory to marketplace
This Special Issue will cover the breadth and depth of research areas pertaining to phytoremediation technologies including the treatment of polluted air, soil, sediments, and water with plants and associated amendments and microbes. We encourage research using cutting-edge technologies such as -omics, genome editing, imaging, and papers with significant innovative technologies and creative ideas. We welcome submissions of research articles, update review articles, methods/protocols, and letters to highlight advances in rapidly evolving areas. Potential topics include but are not limited to:
• Soil pollution in an industrial environment;
• Laboratory research and field application of phytoremediation technologies (i.e. Phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytodegradation, phytovolatilization, rhizofiltration);
• Plant selection for the revegetation of contaminated sites, with a focus on native metallophytes;
• Organic and inorganic soil amendments;
• Hybrid technologies combining chemical, physical, and/or other biological processes with phytoremediation.
• Bacteria and mycorrhiza-assisted phytoremediation
• Nanophytoremediation
• Phytomonitoring
Keywords:
Metallophytes, phytoremediation, mycorrhizosphere, soil amendments, environmental pollution.
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.