The College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the University of Baghdad held a defense for the doctoral dissertation titled “Using the Kinetic Approach to Study the Physicochemical Behavior and Environmental Pollution Indicators of Certain Heavy Elements (Ni, Cd, Pb) in Calcareous Soils” by the student Dhai Mehdi Saleh from the Department of Soil Sciences and Water Resources.
The study aimed to examine the kinetics of the release of some heavy elements (Ni, Cd, Pb) in calcareous soils, identify the best equations to describe the release kinetics, estimate the level of soil and plant contamination by heavy elements based on environmental pollution indicators, and concentrations of heavy elements in soil and plants. It also aimed to understand the potential of the oleander plant in the biological remediation of soil contaminated with some heavy elements and the effect of these heavy elements on the growth of the oleander plant.
The researcher recommended using the bioremediation technique (phytoremediation) to treat soils contaminated with heavy elements, as it is an environmentally friendly technique. This involves planting accumulator plants such as oleander, which can absorb these elements from contaminated soils and accumulate them in their internal tissues without harming the plants. The researcher also recommended conducting more experiments on the oleander plant and other heavy elements to determine the plant’s accumulation capacity for these elements in various soils with different contamination levels. Additionally, caution should be exercised regarding the consumption of plants irrigated with contaminated water or grown in contaminated soils to avoid exceeding the internationally permissible limits of certain heavy elements in plant tissues, which can cause harm and lead to various diseases. This also applies to animal feed.
Congratulations to the researcher on this success and best wishes for continued scientific contributions.
