Wollongbar, disused cattle-dip site

PhytoremediationField scale, 2009–2011

Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana, Pteris vittata

Niazi, Singh, Van Zwieten and Kachenko planted two hyperaccumulating ferns in January 2009 and harvested them at 10, 22 and 27 months, sampling the soil at three depths at the start and at the end.

Outcome From the arsenic removed in the fronds the authors estimate 55–125 years with Pityrogramma and 143–412 years with Pteris vittata to bring the soil below 20 mg/kg. They also warn that times estimated from soil changes measured on few samples are not reliable.

• Arsenic

• Niazi et al., Phytoremediation of an arsenic-contaminated site using Pteris vittata L. and Pityrogramma calomelanos var. austroamericana: a long-term study, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2012