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Chapter 11
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8682-3.ch011
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 efective
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 environ-
mental 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.
Potential Application of
Plant-Microbe Interaction
for Restoration of
Degraded Ecosystems
Krishna Giri
Rain Forest Research Institute, India
Rashmi Paliwal
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology, India
Deep Chandra Suyal
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology, India
Gaurav Mishra
Rain Forest Research Institute, India
Shailesh Pandey
Rain Forest Research Institute, India
J.P.N Rai
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology, India
P.K. Verma
Forest Research Institute, India