Abstract
The growing loss of soil functionality due to contamination by metal(loid)s, alone or in combination with organic pollutants, is a global environmental issue that entails major risks to ecosystems and human health. Consequently, the management and restructuring of large metal(loid)-polluted areas through sustainable nature-based solutions is currently a priority in research programs and legislation worldwide. Over the last few years, phytomanagement has emerged as a promising phytotechnology, focused on the use of plants and associated microorganisms, together withad hocsite management practices, for an economically viable and ecologically sustainable recovery of contaminated sites. It promotes simultaneously the recovery of soil ecological functions and the decrease of pollutant linkages, while providing economic revenues,e.g.by producing non-food crops for biomass-processing technologies (biofuel and bioenergy sector, ecomaterials, biosourced-chemistry, etc.), thus contributing to the international demand for sustainable and renewable sources of energy and raw materials for the bioeconomy. Potential environmental benefits also include the provision of valuable ecosystem services such as water drainage management, soil erosion deterrence, C sequestration, regulation of nutrient cycles, xenobiotic biodegradation, and metal(loid) stabilization. Phytomanagement relies on the proper selection of (i) plants and (ii) microbial inoculants with the capacity to behave as powerful plant allies,e.g., PGPB: plant growth-promoting bacteria and AMF: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This review gives an up-to-date overview of the main annual, perennial, and woody crops, as well as the most adequate cropping systems, presently used to phytomanage metal(loid)-contaminated soils, and the relevant products and ecosystems services provided by the various phytomanagement options. Suitable bioaugmentation practices with PGPB and AMF are also discussed. Furthermore, we identify the potential interest of phytomanagement for stakeholders and end-users and highlight future opportunities boosted by an effective engagement between environmental protection and economic development. We conclude by presenting the legal and regulatory framework of soil remediation and by discussing prospects for phytotechnologies applications in the future.
Highlights
Soil contamination with metal(loid)s, termed ‘trace elements’ in Biogeochemistry and Life Sciences is a global environmental issue that poses serious risks for ecosystem integrity and human health (Joimel et al, 2016; Hou et al, 2017; Peŕ ez and Eugenio, 2018; Bagherifam et al, 2019; Mench et al, 2020; Haller and Jonsson, 2020)
As outlined in this review, the commercial success of many phytotechnologies much relies on the subsequent processing of biomass for the production of valuable products
These indicators must include the economic benefits derived from the variety of ecosystem services provided by a vegetation cover, that are far from being easy to identify and quantify (Boerema et al, 2017), including avoiding pollutant dispersion and, reducing potential risks to human health (Burges et al, 2020)
Summary
Soil contamination with metal(loid)s, termed ‘trace elements’ in Biogeochemistry and Life Sciences (hereafter referred as TE) is a global environmental issue that poses serious risks for ecosystem integrity and human health (Joimel et al, 2016; Hou et al, 2017; Peŕ ez and Eugenio, 2018; Bagherifam et al, 2019; Mench et al, 2020; Haller and Jonsson, 2020). Nowadays, numerous countries have specific legislation and guidelines to deal with contaminated sites and are committed to their remediation, based on either regulatory values or site-specific risk assessment, which further depends on contemplated future land use (Mench et al, 2020). This has boosted the number of initiatives in the EU aimed at recovering contaminated sites (Pérez and Eugenio, 2018). Despite this positive trend, these numbers fall short given the extent of the problem
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