Phytoremediation is a technique that uses plants as agents of soil and water decontamination. It is an advantageous alternative to the conventional methods of water pumping and treatment and/or physical removal of the contaminated soil layer since it allows in situ treatment at feasible costs. Also, after extracting the contaminant from the soil, the plant stores it for a subsequent treatment, if necessary, or may metabolically transform it into products that are less or non-toxic. Phytoremediation can be employed in soils contaminated by inorganic or organic substances. Promising phytoremediation results have been obtained in soils contaminated by heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, explosives, chlorinated solvents and toxic industrial by-products. Herbicide phytoremediation presents interesting results for atrazine, with Kochia scoparia species revealing rhizospheric potential for phytostimulating molecule degradation. Although this technique is not well known in Brazil, studies have been performed using agricultural crops and wild or native plant species from contaminated areas to select efficient species for soil phytoremediation.
phytoremediation; plant selection; soil restoration