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Management of Heavy Metal Polluted Soils: Perspective of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

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Sustainable Green Technologies for Environmental Management

Abstract

In recent years, intensive research have been initiated on remediation of metal polluted soil due to the public concerns on ecosystem deterioration. Plants are used as an effective tool in remediation of metal polluted soil. In natural ecosystem, plants are associated with soil microorganisms which plays an important role in enhancing plant growth in metal contaminated site and phytoremediation process. Among the microorganisms, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) contributes markedly in the phytoremediation process in metal contaminated site by enhancing plant stress tolerance and metal extraction from soil (phytoextraction) and immobilization of metals in soil (phytostabilization). This chapter deals with our study on the effect of heavy metal on AMF root colonization and diversity in heavy metal and metalloid contaminated sites. In addition, this chapter summarizes the mechanisms involved in AMF mediated phytoremediation of metal polluted soil. Potential prospects lies in revealing the mechanisms behind the tripartite interaction among plant species, AMF species and heavy metals for effective management of polluted soils.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, India

    R. Krishnamoorthy, R. Anandham & K. Kumutha

  2. School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

    V. Venkatramanan

  3. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    M. Senthilkumar & R. Anandham

  4. Department of Environmental and Biological Chemistry, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea

    Tongmin Sa

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  1. R. Krishnamoorthy
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  2. V. Venkatramanan
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  3. M. Senthilkumar
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  4. R. Anandham
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  5. K. Kumutha
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  6. Tongmin Sa
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Correspondence to M. Senthilkumar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

    Shachi Shah

  2. School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

    V. Venkatramanan

  3. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Ram Prasad

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Krishnamoorthy, R., Venkatramanan, V., Senthilkumar, M., Anandham, R., Kumutha, K., Sa, T. (2019). Management of Heavy Metal Polluted Soils: Perspective of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. In: Shah, S., Venkatramanan, V., Prasad, R. (eds) Sustainable Green Technologies for Environmental Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2772-8_4

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