Phytoremediation Impacts on Water Productivity

Phytoremediation is widely viewed as the ecologically responsible alternative to the environmentally destructive physical and chemical remediation methods currently practiced. Soil and water pollution is due to many kind of contaminants from various anthropogenic origins such as agricultural, industrial, wastewater; activities which involve the addition of nutrients, pesticides and on the other hand, industry and urbanization pollute the water with solid wastes, heavy metals, solvents, and several other slow degrading organic and inorganic substances. Dispersion of these contaminants from the source can be through the atmosphere, via the waterbodies and water channels, and/or into the soil itself, and from there they enter the food chain and adversely affects the human life. Important progresses have been made in the last years developing native plants for phytoremediation and/or nano-phytoremediation of environmental contaminants. Generally it is a technology that utilizes plants and their associated rhizosphere microorganisms to remove and transform the toxic chemicals located in soils, sediments, groundwater, surface water, and even the atmosphere. Phytoremediation applied to wetlands is an effective, nonintrusive, and inexpensive means of remediating wastewater, industrial water and landfill leachate. It highly increases water productivity.