Arsenic phytoremediation byPhragmites australis: green technology

The authors report arsenic phytoremediation by the common reed, Phragmites australis (P. australis). The plants for this study were collected from five sampling sites in the Chelpo contaminated area of Khorasan Province in Northeast Iran. P. australis was found to be a hyper‐accumulator plant. Because of the potential for this plant to be used as an agent to remove arsenic from a polluted environment, P. australis has a considerable enrichment factor. Thus, in the P. australis accumulation model following the order of root>rhizome>stem>leaves, the examination of P. australis for the phytoremediation process indicates that this species can cope with arsenic remediation from certain polluted soils.