Approaches for assisted phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated sites

Abstract

Arsenic (As) contamination of the soil is a burgeoning worldwide problem. The presence of As in high concentrations in soil affects the nutritional quality of soil and reduces yield and quality of crops growing in such soils. Rice is the major crop affected by As contamination. Further, the accumulation of As in edible parts of crop plants negatively worsens their nutritional value. There are also huge tracts of land contaminated to such an extent that they have become barren unproductive land. Phytoremediation is the use of plants for sustainable and cost-effective remediation of a metal contaminated site. However, the application of phytoremediation is limited by low As accumulation potential of most plants as well as by the toxicity of incoming As to plant growth. To overcome these limitations, a number of approaches have been targeted. These include chemical and biological amendments like biochar, microbes, and fungi. Further, several efforts have been made for genetic engineering of plants so as to reduce As toxicity and increase As accumulation along with improved plant growth. A number of successful efforts have been made to achieve the desirable enhancement of metal remediation by plants. This chapter presents an account of various chemical, biological, and genetic engineering based approaches targeted to augment phytoremediation prospects of plants for As. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.