Cadmium and Mercury phytostabilization from soil using Miscanthus × giganteus

The determination of the effects of cadmium and mercury on the growth, biomass productivity and phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus × giganteus (MxG) grown on contaminated soil was the main aim of this paper. The use of bioenergy plants as an innovative strategy in phytotechnology gives additional benefits, including mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and soil remediation without affecting soil fertility. An experiment was set up as a randomized complete block design with the treatments varied in concentrations of Cd (0, 10 and 100 mg kg^-1 soil) and Hg (0, 2 and 20 mg kg^-1 soil) added to the soil. Three vegetative years were studied. Yield values ranged from 6.3-15.5 t_DM ha^-1, cadmium concentration in plants varied from 45-6758 µg kg^-1 and Hg varied from 8.7-108.9 µg kg^-1. Values between treatments and years were significantly different. MxG can accumulate and remove very modest amount (up to 293.8 µg Cd and 4.7 µg Hg) per pot per year in aboveground biomass. Based on this data it can be concluded that MxG, as a valuable energy crop, is a potential candidate for the phytostabilization and biomass production on soils contaminated with Cd and Hg moderately.