Abstract
Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and ecologically friendly process that involves the use of plants to uptake, accumulate, translocate, stabilize, or degrade pollutants. The present study was conducted to demonstrate the potential of pea (Pisum sativum L. spp. sativum) cultivar Blauwschokker to phytostimulate biodiesel degradation in an agricultural soil, considering the influence of biological remediation on selected physiological parameters of plants and the amount and activity of soil microflora. Biodiesel was spiked into soil in dose of 50 g kg−1 of dry mass soil. The results of the study showed that the rate of biodiesel degradation in the vegetated soil was higher than that occurring by natural attenuation. At the same time, biodiesel showed a positive effect on the growth, development, and activity of soil bacteria and fungi. Moreover, the obtained results showed an improvement in physiological parameters of plants, including an increase in chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll content and higher relative water content in leaves in the presence of biodiesel.
Highlights
Crude oil and its derivatives may accumulate in the environment during their exploration and during the storage, transport, and combustion of fuels
The results of our previous screening experiment indicated that more than 50 plant species showed a significant decrease in germination index in the biodiesel-contaminated soil, while the pea cultivar Blauwschokker alone was resistant to its presence
Biodiesel improved the number and activity of bacteria, actinobacteria, fungi, heterotrophs, and other microorganisms involved in its biological decomposition and led to an increase in the respiratory activity of microorganisms
Summary
Crude oil and its derivatives may accumulate in the environment during their exploration and during the storage, transport, and combustion of fuels The components of these fuels, mainly petroleum hydrocarbons, pollute soil, water, and air and have an adverse impact on plants, animals, and humans. Several studies have indicated that biodiesel may have an adverse impact on the environment, including physicochemical and biological properties of soils (Singh et al 2014; Hawrot-Paw et al 2017). This impact may result from the chemical composition of biodiesel that, inter alia, includes some toxic substances that aim to prevent the oxidation of biodiesel (Tamada et al 2012). A vast number of studies on the phytoremediation of petroleum-based hydrocarbons have shown the high potential of various species of grasses and legumes in the degradation of contaminants (Hall et al 2011; Basumatary et al 2012; Bramley-Alves et al 2014)
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