Study of plants for phytoremediation of oil-contaminated soil.

Long-term field observations of the natural vegetation cover in industrial and adjacent areas has revealed that the was one of the main plant family representatives of which were noted in oil-contaminated area. In this study against the background of the previously well characterized plant families and , the phytoremediation potential of plants was investigated under the field conditions and described. Among the members of this family, , , , , and were the most common in oil-contaminated areas. was the most tolerant to hydrocarbons and, along with and actively stimulated the soil microorganisms, including hydrocarbon-oxidizing ones, in their rhizosphere. A comparative assay confirmed that the plants of the family as a whole more efficiently enrich the soil both with available nitrogen and with pollutant degradation genes. Nevertheless, the comparatively high ammonium nitrogen content in the rhizosphere of and allows these species to be singled out to explain their high rhizosphere effect, and to suggest their remediation potential for oil-contaminated soil. Against the background of the previously well characterized plant families Poaceae and Fabaceae, the remediation potential of Boraginaceae plants was described for the first time. Overall, this study contributes to understanding the differences in remediation potential of plants at the family level and suggests the monitoring pollutant degradation genes as an informative tool to the search for plant promising for use in the cleanup of oil-contaminated soil.