Ağır Metallerle Kirlenmiş Toprakların İyileştirilmesinde Fitoremediasyon Yöntemi: Tıbbi ve Aromatik Bitkilerin Uygunluğu

Environmental contamination with heavy metals is a serious growing problem throughout the world. In today’s industrial society, there is no way to avoid the exposure to toxic chemicals and metals. Agricultural lands, which are an important part of the environment, are a part of this phenomenon. Toxic industrial wastes can be mixed with liquid fertilizers and spread to agricultural lands. Various methods are used in order to eliminate environmental disturbances as a result of industrial activities. Most of these methods use advanced technologies, which seem to be quite expensive and difficult to apply to large areas. On the other hand, phytoremediation method is one of the most preferred options in combating metal pollution problem and it is an ideal candidate to use medicinal and aromatic plants as a sustainable, aesthetic and environment friendly technique. When it is investigated, it can be seen that the flora of our country consists of 38 hyperaccumulator plants from different families that are also mentioned in international literature. Hyperacumulator plants such as Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Centaury (Hypericum perforatum) are known to absorb heavy metals, releasing them into the atmosphere in the form of gas. This review briefly describes benefits of using medicinal and aromatic plants for the recovery of soils contaminated with heavy metals.