Potential Application of Plant-Microbe Interaction for Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems

Abstract

Rapidly increasing human population, urbanization, industrialization, and mining activities have become the serious environmental issue of today's world. Conventional physico-chemical remediation methods are highly expensive and generate secondary waste. However, bioremediation of contaminated ecosystems using indigenous microbes and plants or amalgamation of both has been recognized as a cost effective and eco-friendly method for remediation as well as restoration of polluted or degraded ecosystems. Further, variety of pollutant attenuation mechanisms possessed by microbes and plants makes them more feasible for remediation of contaminated land and water over physico-chemical methods. Plants and microbes act cooperatively to improve the rates of biodegradation and biostabilization of environmental contaminants. This chapter aims to emphasize on potential application of microbes and plants to attenuate the organic and inorganic pollutants from the contaminated sites as well as eco-restoration of mine degraded and jhum lands by way of biodegradation and phytoremediation technologies.