Soils are essential components of the environment, the basis of terrestrial ecosystems and a crossroads for bio geochemical cycles at the biosphere-lithosphere interface. Therefore, soil quality must be preserved. However, the increased concentration and distribution of xenobionts and potentially toxic elements (PTE)in soils by anthropogenic mismanagement of industrial and mining resources, are causing worldwide concern.
The anomalous concentration of PTE may affect the soil's environment, forest, agricultural production and groundwater quality and therefore pollution. So, there are repercussions in the food chain.
Phytoremediation includes different technical processes that lead to the amelioration of contaminated soils by the cultivation of plants. Such procedures are applied to soil contaminated with different hazardous inorganic substances : such as PTE, cyanides, perchlorate, nitrogen dioxide, radionuclides and organic substances : halogenated hydrocarbons, fuel, PAHs, PCBs coal tar and other xenobionts. The phytoremediation techniques, ecofriendly as well as being cost efficient, are part of a new industrial ecology. They are new sustainable technologies in agreement with a sustainable development. These procedures include phytostabilization, phytoimmobilization, phytoextraction, phytotransformation, phytovolatilization, phytodegredation, phytostimulation, phytofiltration, phytomining and other new promising developments that include plant biochemistry, proteomic and genomic are the basis for understanding the fundaments of plant tolerance.
We welcome contributions on theoretical and applied methodologies, experimental laboratory and field works. We look forward to a lively oral and poster sessions. We also hope to publish the outcome of this Session in a Special Issue of an international referenced journal.