Metal accumulation capability of weeds and their utilization in phytoremediation technology

A wide range of anthropogenic activities cause physiochemical changes in the nature of soil. This leads to the contamination of environment. There are many methods employed to clean up environment from these contaminants, but most of them are costly and ineffective to provide proper results. Chemical methods employed act with complicated mechanism and lots of cost input. Phytoremediation is a technology that acts with deployment of green plants, for removal of toxic metals from the polluted environment. Phytoremediation is a cost-effective technique through which clean-up of contaminated soil loaded with high heavy metals is performed by weeds and small herbal plants. Phytoremediation has become a successful technology for hyperaccumulation of heavy metals; arsenic, lead, mercury, copper, chromium, nickel etc., by weeds. Weeds have intrinsic capacity to accumulate metals into their shoots and root and further to form phytochelates and stabilize ions. This accumulation activity of these weeds along with stable compound formation acts as a boon for phytoremediation technology.