Environmental Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Environmental Science - Essay Example ies to make the environment arsenic free and phytoremediation is considered one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to remove arsenic from arsenic contaminated soil. In this paper, Lampis et al, test the efficiency of a fern Pteris vittata inoculated with certain bacterial strains, on arsenic phytoextraction in an arsenic contaminated soil. The researchers aimed to investigate the capability of Pteris vittata or Chinese brake fern to remove arsenic from an arsenic contaminated soil sample when inoculated with certain bacterial strains. The soil sample sued for the study was procured from an arsenic contaminated area in in Scarlino Industrial area in Tuscany, Italy. This particular site served as a landfill area where almost 1.5milion tons of arsenopyrite cinders had been dumped thereby exposing the dump site to rain and subsequent leaching of the arsenic into the soil to the groundwater table. The researchers procured the rhizosphere of different autochthonous plants that grew in and around the Scarlino area and used the plant parts to extract bacterial strains that were naturally arsenic-resistant. They cultured the bacterial strain under laboratory conditions to obtain pure colonies. The ability of the bacteria to promote plant growth was also checked by conducting assay for IAA production and measuring the 1-amino-c yclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity. Taxonomic analysis of the bacterial isolates was conducted using both wet lab and dry lab methods. The researchers, at the end of the experiment, measured the biomass and the arsenic level in the roots as well as the fronds of the ferns. The results showed that there was a significant increase of almost 35% in the biomass of the plants which had been inoculated with bacteria when compared to those that had not received inoculation. The test results also confirmed that plants that received mixed inoculum had a greater capability to phytoextract arsenic from the soil as compared to