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[Phytoremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls contaminated soil by leguminosae-gramineae intercropping: a field
Chen Tu1, Ying Teng, Yong-Ming Luo
1Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Sciecne, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China. tchen@issas.ac.cn
Abstract:
Phytoremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated soil by leguminosae (alfalfa) and gramineae (ryegrass and tall fescue) was studied in a field trial. All planted treatments had significantly higher PCBs removal efficiency compared with those of unplanted control after 270 days of in-situ phytoremediation. Alfalfa monoculture received the highest removal efficiency of soil PCBs by 59.6%. Analysis of PCBs congeners composition showed that the percentage of di-chlorinated biphenyl decreased in all planted treatments. Alfalfa produced the maximum biomass among the 3 plants. Total PCBs concentration in alfalfa roots reached 355.1 microg/kg, which was significantly higher than those in ryegrass and tall fescue. The phytoextraction efficiency of different treatment was in order of alfalfa > alfalfa-ryegrass-tall fescue > alfalfa-ryegrass > ryegrass > alfalfa-tall fescue > tall fescue. The results suggest that alfalfa may be an ideal candidate for the phytoremediation of PCBs contaminated soil.
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