Phytoremediation of Lead Contaminated Soils

Heavy metal contamination is of widespread occurrence and Kabwe town has been no exception with a high record of Pb contamination. Many approaches of remediation of Pb contaminated soils exist. One of these approaches is phytoremediation, which involves the use of plants to remediate pollution in contaminated soils, air and water. This study involved the use of Cynodon dactylon (couch grass) and Imperata cylindrical (cogon grass) for phytoremediation. A greenhouse pot study was carried out to evaluate the potential of native grasses (couch grass and cogon grass) for phytoremediation in lead contaminated soils of Kabwe compared to lemon and vetiver grass. All grasses and soil samples were collected from Kabwe. The experiment was set up as a Completely Randomized Design with four grasses and four replicates. Laboratory analysis for Pb in the grasses and the soil was conducted before planting and after harvest. The potential of phytoextraction and phytostabilization of the grasses was evaluated considering the concentration of Pb in the plant tissue and also the bioconcentration factor (BCF), translocation factor (TF) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF).