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Environmental Science

Phytoremediation: Using Plants to Clean Contaminated Soil

Quick fact

Certain plants, known as hyperaccumulators, can concentrate heavy metals like nickel or zinc in their tissues at levels thousands of times higher than what's present in the soil, sometimes even producing metal-rich 'bio-ore' when harvested.

Why this is interesting

Imagine cleaning a toxic waste site not with giant machines or chemicals, but with a field of sunflowers. How can plants—seemingly delicate—absorb and neutralize dangerous pollutants from the soil?