%0 Journal Article
%T Biostimulation for the Enhanced Degradation of Herbicides in Soil
%A Ramdas Gopinath Kanissery
%A Gerald K. Sims
%J Applied and Environmental Soil Science
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2011/843450
%X Cleanup of herbicide-contaminated soils has been a dire environmental concern since the advent of industrial era. Although microorganisms are excellent degraders of herbicide compounds in the soil, some reparation may need to be brought about, in order to stimulate them to degrade the herbicide at a faster rate in a confined time frame. ¡°Biostimulation¡± through the appropriate utilization of organic amendments and nutrients can accelerate the degradation of herbicides in the soil. However, effective use of biostimulants requires thorough comprehension of the global redox cycle during the microbial degradation of the herbicide molecules in the soil. In this paper, we present the prospects of using biostimulation as a powerful remediation strategy for the rapid cleanup of herbicide-polluted soils. 1. Introduction The term ¡°biostimulation¡± is often used to describe the addition of electron acceptors, electron donors, or nutrients to stimulate naturally occurring microbial populations [1]. Comprehensively, biostimulation could be perceived as including the introduction of adequate amounts of water, nutrients, and oxygen into the soil, in order to enhance the activity of indigenous microbial degraders [2] or to promote cometabolism [3]. ¡°Biostimulation¡± is usually paired under the ¡°enhanced bioremediation¡± techniques along with ¡°bioaugmentation¡± which is merely the introduction of specific microorganisms (indigenous or nonindigenous) aimed at enhancing the biodegradation of target compound or serving as donors of the catabolic genes. The concept of biostimulation is to boost the intrinsic degradation potential of a polluted matrix through the accumulation of amendments, nutrients, or other limiting factors and has been used for a wide variety of xenobiotics [4]. Even though the diversity of natural microbial populations apparently displays the potential for contaminant remediation at polluted sites, factors such as lack of electron acceptors or donors, low nitrogen or phosphorus availability, or a lack of stimulation of the metabolic pathways responsible for degradation can inhibit or delay the remediation. In these cases, accumulation of exogenous nutrients can enhance the degradation of the toxic materials [5]. Herbicides are a group of compounds that, in spite of their benefits, may produce a wide range of toxic side effects which pose a potential threat to the environment. Extensive use of herbicides poses some far-reaching consequence because of the potential runoff and leaching of these compounds through the soil leading to contamination of surface and
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2011/843450/