Dendroremediation - Exploring the potential use of trees to clean up contaminated soil and water
Introduction:
The environmental remediation industry came into existence only during the past 20 years, with new remediation techniques continuously emerging, bioremediation being the most recent. An emerging technique for cleanup of toxic chemicals is the use of plants to mineralize and remove toxic metals from the environment. The ability of certain selected plants to effectively remove large amounts of toxic metals from soils and waters can provide innovative, economically efficient and environmentally friendly approaches to reducing toxic metals in the environment. Various herbaceous plants have been used to take up pollutants and allow more orderly disposal procedures at possibly lower costs. Phytoremediation, the environmental cleanup approach using plants that possess the ability to take up and concentrate contaminates in their tissues has been recognized as an emerging technology. Some herbaceous plants have been identified for this purpose; limitations associated with characteristics of these plants, however, have also been identified, especially their shallow roots and small above ground components.
Trees, with their large biomass and deeper and more integrated root systems provide a unique means for deep cleansing of soil and aquifers. The use of trees as bioremediation agents is in its infancy, but gaining interest and acceptance. The technology is truly in situ, as it does not require movement of soils, or water, and is much less energy demanding; it can be applied on different scales, from small plots to large sites. It has a high potential for improvement by novel techniques that require much lower capital and labor costs as compared to engineering approaches. Our approach at Department of Foresty, Michigan State University involves the search for and the use of native and/or exotic trees to remediate contaminated soil and water is called dendroremediation.