Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Rhizosphere Management for Phytoremediation of Copper Mine Tailings

  • Review
  • Published:
Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Copper (Cu) is essential for plant growth, but due to increased pollution in the last decades, Cu contamination has become a serious environmental concern. Different techniques have been carried out for the remediation of the negative effects of Cu excess, being the phytoremediation a sustainable strategy. In this scenario, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) emerge as a powerful tool for increasing the plant cover in Cu mine tailings. Moreover, the use of organic amendments has proven to be another interesting tool which in combinations with AMF increases nutrient availability and water absorption. Recent studies have been performed to alleviate abiotic stress conditions using AMF and other plant growth promoting rhizosphere microorganisms, as free-living fungi and bacteria. Although studies of these microorganisms in conjunction with AMF in phytoremediation are scarce, the characteristics and mechanisms of action suggest a great potential for phytoremediation employing the management of microbial communities and the conditioning by amendments. The combined use of the above resources emerges as a new approach to develop improved phytoremediation techniques based on the rhizosphere management, which is summarized in this review. Here, we also describe the new advances in the directed use of soil microorganisms and amendments, as well as discuss the advantages for phytoremediation processes, mainly focused on the stabilization of mine tailing, which has become one of the most serious environmental problems in places where the mining activities are of magnitude.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Download references

Funding

R. Pérez, Mónica Antilén, Yasna Tapia, Manuel Casanova, and P. Cornejo were supported by the “Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo” (ANID-Chile) ANID/PIA/ACM170002 grant. S. Silambarasan and P. Cornejo received financial support from the “Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad de La Frontera, Chile” through the InES19 institutional for priority areas in Climate Change and Sustainability. P. Cornejo received funding from ANID/FONDAP/15130015 and ANID/FONDECYT/1210964 grants.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pablo Cornejo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pérez, R., Tapia, Y., Antilén, M. et al. Rhizosphere Management for Phytoremediation of Copper Mine Tailings. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 21, 3091–3109 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00591-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-021-00591-0

Keywords

Navigation