Phytoextraction from Chromium-Contaminated Soil Using Moso Bamboo in Mediterranean Conditions

Abstract

An experimentation has been carried out in simulated Mediterranean and tropical laboratory conditions aimed to show the Moso bamboo capability of phytoextraction chromium from contaminated soil. Electronic microscopy supported the analyses performed on soil and on the different plant tissues. A preliminary test on the bamboo has been carried out in laboratory evaluating his growth with irrigation in Mediterranean conditions (600 mm/year) and tropical conditions (1.800 mm/year). A test of the bamboo tolerance of was also carried out by measuring his growth with irrigation with a solution of 100 mg Cr/l, reporting not significant damages to the plant tissues. Subsequently chromium phytoextraction was tested highlighting that bamboo removes Cr from soil with a percentage ranging from 43% (600 mm/year) to 47.4% (1.800 mm/year) of the total content in soil. Lastly, the distribution of chromium in the different fragments of the bamboo plants has been performed. It has been shown that approx. 69% of chromium, in Mediterranean conditions, was in the rhizomes and approx. 68% in tropical conditions. A slightly higher tendency to chromium translocation to leaves has been shown in tropical conditions than in Mediterranean conditions.