Abstract: Phytoremediation employs the engineered use of green plants and their associated micro biota for the in-situ treatment of contaminated soil and ground water. It is cost effective, and aesthetically pleasing as the plants can be easily monitored and metals absorbed by the plants may be extracted from harvested plant biomass and then recycled. Effectiveness of phytoremediation process is based on the ability of plants to absorb metals and other toxic substances and effectively transport it to other aerial part of the plants such as root, stem, branches, leaves and seeds. This paper therefore reviews metal uptake process, plant-metal interactions and transport of metals within plants used for phytoremediation process.
Keywords: Phytoremediation, Metal uptake, Plant-metal interaction and Transport.
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