Mycoremediation in Soil

Abstract

The chapter reviews the most important researches on the use of microand macrofungi in the bioremediation of contaminated soils. In particular, the main classes of soil pollutants in Europe (heavy metals, mineral oils, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), monoaromatic hydrocarbons, phenols and chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs)), together with the emerging contaminants (i.e. endocrinedisrupting chemicals (EDCs) and pharmaceutical-personal care products (PPCPs)) are considered. A description of the fungal species (saprotrophic and biotrophic basidiomycetes) and biodegradative extracellular (laccases and class II peroxidases) and intracellular (cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and glutathione transferases) enzyme classes is reported. Moreover, the chemical-physical parameters that influence the biodegradation process are examined, and the biostimulation and bioaugmentation strategies are described. A specific attention is paid to the microcosm studies, at the laboratory scale, which are an essential approach to evaluate the feasibility of a biodegradation process.