Microbial Assisted Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soils: An Effective Way to Enhance Bioremediation of Contaminated Areas

Abstract

Soil is a non-renewable resource with an essential role for life because it provides a habitat for most species and ecosystem services such as provisioning, culture, maintenance, and regulation. However, anthropogenic activities, mainly agriculture and mining, are sources of contamination that have caused the release of pollutants that can accumulate in the soil and enter food chains, affecting the environment and human health. Hence, remediation strategies are sought for sites contaminated with pesticides and heavy metals; one of these strategies consists in biological treatments, which present advantages over physicochemical remediation treatments. In these treatments, microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, plants, or their enzymes are used to remove pollutants from the soil. In particular, assisted phytoremediation combines the potential of different microorganisms and plants to remove contaminants, such as pesticides and heavy metals, from the soil. This chapter analyzes the effects of contaminants in the soil, mainly heavy metals and pesticides, and the underlying mechanisms that microorganisms and plants use to tolerate, eliminate, or degrade these contaminants from soils.