Prospects of mycorrhizal fungi in phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soils

Abstract

Industry has a considerable impact on the environment. The coal industry in Ukraine is one of the largest environmental polluters. Heavy metals are one of the major environmental pollutants. Most of the heavy metals are important micronutrients for plants, such as: Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni. At the same time, others only have a negative effect: Cd, Pb and Hg. Mining is the main source of these heavy metals entering the environment. Coal industry is not an exception. Coal dumps are the main source of pollution. Studies have shown that these dumps have a high concentration of heavy metals that exceeds the permissible limit [1]. Heavy metals in these substrates are not chemically decomposed. They can be only removed or immobilized in the substrate [2]. Heavy metals can only be removed from contaminated land using physical methods. But these methods are expensive and require a large amount of expenditure.