Phytoextraction and Phytofiltration of Arsenic

Arsenic, a ubiquitous contaminant in groundwater and soils, is currently drawing much public attention. Arsenic-contaminated soils can be cleaned up via phytoextraction-the use of plants to extract the arsenic from soil and transport it into aboveground tissues. Arsenic removal from polluted soils can be carried out using hyperaccumulator ferns like the Chinese brake fern Pteris vittata, which accumulates very high concentrations of the element in aboveground tissues. The capacity of the plant to take up large concentrations of arsenic, even at low levels in soil, illustrates efficient bioaccumulation. The possibility of using Pteris ferns to remove arsenic from water by phytofiltration has been proposed.