Zeitschrift für Ökologie und Toxikologie

Abstrakt

Role of plant rhizosphere during indoor volatile organic compound remediation by plants

Dilhani de Silva

A wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOC) are released
from building materials, household products and
human activities. These have the potential to reduce indoor
air quality (IAQ), poor IAQ remains a serious threat
to human health. Whilst the ability of the single plant
species to remove VOC from the air through a process
called phytoremediation is widely recognised, little evidence
is available for the value of mixed plant species (i.e.
plant communities) in this respect. The work reported
herein explored the potential of plant communities to remove
the three most dominant VOCs: benzene, toluene
and m-xylene (BTX) from indoor air. During phytoremediation,
bacteria in the root zone (rhizosphere) of plants
are considered the principal site contributing to the VOC
reduction. This project explored BTX degrading bacteria
in the rhizosphere through culture-dependent and independent
approaches.