Environmental Amelioration Using Aquatic Macrophytes: Emphasizing Removal of Heavy Metals from Waste Water

Abstract

Pollution of the aquatic environment with toxic metals has been attracting considerable attention over the past decades and increasing urbanization, industrialization and overpopulation are the main cause. Due to this toxic pollutant the global water crisis is one of the most serious problems facing by the humanity today as also plants and animals are very sensitive to the presence of these toxic metals. Phytoextraction is the most cost effective and environment friendly way to solve the problem of heavy metal pollution by using plants. Macrophytes are important component of aquatic communities due to their roles in oxygen production, nutrient cycling, water quality control, sediment stabilization to provide habitat and shelter for aquatic life and also for being considered efficient heavy metal accumulators. The main route of heavy metal uptake is through their roots in emergent and surface floating plants whereas, leafy submerged plants uptake heavy metals both through roots and leaves. Roots of wetland plants play the primary role in wastewater purification followed by stems and leaves. Aquatic macrophytes therefore are very useful for the treatment of wastewater to mitigate variety of pollution level and now are the important research issues all over the world. In this review an effort has been made to summarize the role of aquatic macrophytes in the removal of heavy metals from the polluted water to improve the water quality.