The Use of Water Plants in Biomonitoring And Phytoremediation of Waters Polluted with Heavy Metals

The publication is a synthetic review of many years of research on the possibility of using water plants (macrophytes) to assess pollution of surface waters and the possibility of using the biomass in phytoremediation processes. The results of the research of kinetics and equilibria of heavy metals sorption and desorption conditions were presented in order to repeatedly use the biomass, as well as the research on the influence of abiotic factors on sorption processes. Defence mechanisms of macrophytes, which enable them to vegetate in considerably polluted waters, have been discussed. The results presented herein and carried out in many countries demonstrate that macrophytes can be successfully used in the biomonitoring of water environments and phytoremediation of waters and sewage; however, validation of these procedures requires more detailed research of the mechanisms, which accompany them.