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Humanity needs healthy soil in order to survive. Farm lands and the proper regulation of green houses gases will not be possible without healthy soil. It also provides an area for our homes, schools, and recreational areas such as parks. Without healthy soil beautiful gardens or any plant life will not exist. It is important to know that man can never return soil exactly to its natural state. Meaning, soil can easily be contaminated by pollutants and would require years to be fully replenished. Trash dumping is the number one cause of soil contamination. Trash buried underground releases deadly chemicals that change the soil’s alkaline state. The traditional “soil remediation”, is isolating the polluted soil. This is the least effective way to solve soil contamination. These contaminated patches will accumulate over time. Geochemical methods are used for proper soil treatment. Not simply discarding our limited supply of soil.
Soil must undergo several steps to be effective. Cleanups are designed to deal with pollutants such as heavy metals, hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides and volatile chemicals. The reason for cleanups is either to prepare the area for construction or to make it a more pleasing environment.
The technique to use plants to clean up the soil is called phytoremediation. It may not give immediate results, but unlike other methods it does not require land excavation. Other techniques would require damaging soil excavation and chemical washing. The use of plants are great, because they are very versatile. They are used for soil remediation, as well as water and air cleanups. For a better understanding here is a list of some phytoremediation methods.
Phyto-stabilization: Certain plants are able to produce natural chemical compounds that immobilize contaminants.
Phyto-accretion or Phyto-mining: This process is often applied to metal contaminated soils. Plants absorb the metals in its stems and leaves. The plants will then be removed from the site and be disposed as harmful waste.
Root zone biodegradation: Plants release biochemical substances from its roots which supply nutrients to soil micro-organisms. This growth will help return the soil’s health.
Phyto-degradation: Plants take in the contaminants and digest it.
The uses of plants can be the future to pollution management. It does not only perform soil remediation but also supplies clean air and a greener Earth.
Related articles
- Water Remediation (sustainableprojectmanagement.com)
- One Way To Make Free Compost For Your Top Soil (realestatenoevalley.com)
- There’s So Many Different Kinds Of Soil! (bearathome.com)
- Ten Interesting Facts About Soil (juliogarden.com)
- Growing plants on oil contaminated land (sciencedaily.com)
- In Fukushima, Sunflowers Sow Hope For A Radioactive-Free Future (fastcompany.com)
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