Zahra Salari - Department of Natural Resources, Baft Branch, Islamic Azad University, Baft, Iran

Today, the accumulation of toxic heavy metals in water and soil is considered a serious environmental problem that causes various harmful effects on plants and animals. Phytoremediation is an effective, green and economic bioremediation approach by which harmful heavy metals in the polluted ecosystem can be detoxified and accumulated in the plant. Accumulations secrete molecules called transporters that transport heavy metals in the soil to different parts of the plant. The efficiency of plant remediation depends on various parameters such as soil properties (pH and soil type), organic matter in soil, type of heavy metals, nature of rhizosphere, characteristics of rhizosphere microflora, etc. The present review comprehensively discusses the effect of heavy metal toxicity on the environment and different phytoremediation mechanisms for the transfer and accumulation of heavy metals from contaminated soil.

Bioremediation, Heavy metals, Plant