Advancing environmental design with phytoremediation of brownfield soils using spontaneous invasive plants

Xiwei Shen; Mengting Ge; Steven N Handel; Wenji Wang; Zehua Jin; Niall G Kirkwood

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163635

Advancing environmental design with phytoremediation of brownfield soils using spontaneous invasive plants

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jul 20:883:163635. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163635. Epub 2023 Apr 24.

Authors

Xiwei Shen¹, Mengting Ge², Steven N Handel³, Wenji Wang⁴, Zehua Jin⁵, Niall G Kirkwood⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Landscape Architecture, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA. Electronic address: xiwei.shen@unlv.edu.
² Department of Landscape Architecture, Virginia Tech, 800 Drillfield Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Electronic address: gmengting@vt.edu.
³ Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 93 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Electronic address: steven.handel@rutgers.edu.
⁴ Shanghai Landscape Architecture Design & Research Institute CO., LTD, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA. Electronic address: zehuaj@g.clemson.edu.
⁶ Department of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: kirkwood@gsd.harvard.edu.

PMID: 37100146
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163635

Abstract

Compared to traditional mechanical brownfield remediation strategies, phytoremediation as a sustainable and low-impact solution, yielding long-term soil chemical improvement. As a common part of many local plant communities, spontaneous invasive plants have advantages over native species in growth speed and resource-use efficiency and are many are effective on degrading or removing chemical soil pollutants. This research presents a methodology for using spontaneous invasive plants as the agent of phytoremediation for brownfield remediation is an innovative component of ecological restoration and design. This research explores s conceptual and applicable model of using spontaneous invasive plants in the phytoremediation of brownfield soil for environmental design practice. This research summarizes five parameters (Soil Drought Level, Soil Salinity, Soil Nutrients, Soil Metal Pollution, and Soil pH) and their classification standards. Based on the five parameters, a series of experiments were designed to examine 5 spontaneous invasive species' tolerance and performance to different soil conditions. Taking the research results as a data base, this research developed a conceptual model of selecting suitable spontaneous invasive plants for brownfield phytoremediation by overlaying the soil condition data and plants' tolerance data. Using a brownfield site in Boston metropolitan region as a case study, the research tested the feasibility and rationality of this model. The results propose a novel approach and materials for general environmental remediation of contaminated soil by involving spontaneous invasive plants. It also transforms the abstract phytoremediation knowledge and data to an applicable model which integrates and visualizes the requirements of scientific plant selection, design aesthetic, and ecosystem factors to help the environmental design process in brownfield remediation.

Keywords: Brownfield remediation; Ecological restoration; Environmental design; Phytoremediation; Spontaneous invasive plant.

MeSH terms

Biodegradation, Environmental
Ecosystem
Environmental Restoration and Remediation*
Metals
Plants
Soil
Soil Pollutants* / analysis

Substances

Soil
Metals
Soil Pollutants