Challenges and opportunities in the phytoremediation of heavy metals contaminated soils: A review

• Soil heavy metals contamination is an alarming environmental fact.
• Soil cleanup is a great challenge in most countries.
• Hyperaccumulator plants provide an opportunity to remediate heavy metals.
• Phytoextraction and phytostabilization are promising remediation approaches.
• More research is required to test new hyperaccumulators for soil cleanup.

Mining operations, industrial production and domestic and agricultural use of metal and metal containing compound have resulted in the release of toxic metals into the environment. Metal pollution has serious implications for the human health and the environment. Few heavy metals are toxic and lethal in trace concentrations and can be teratogenic, mutagenic, endocrine disruptors while others can cause behavioral and neurological disorders among infants and children. Therefore, remediation of heavy metals contaminated soil could be the only effective option to reduce the negative effects on ecosystem health. Thus, keeping in view the above facts, an attempt has been made in this article to review the current status, challenges and opportunities in the phytoremediation for remediating heavy metals from contaminated soils. The prime focus is given to phytoextraction and phytostabilization as the most promising and alternative methods for soil reclamation.