Using vegetation to enhance <i>in situ</i> bioremediation

Abstract

Abstract Vegetation can enhance in situ bioremediation processes in many applications. Microbial transformations occur in the soil external to the plant roots. Organic contaminants also enter vegetation and are transformed within plants. Research progress is reviewed with emphasis on recent experimental results and mathematical models of contaminant fate in systems where vegetation is present. Evapotranspiration provides a solar driven pump‐and‐treat system which helps bring contaminants to the rhizosphere and helps contain them on the site.