Phytoremediation is an exciting, new technology that utilizes metal-accumulating plants to rid soil of heavy metal and radionuclides. Hyperaccumulation plants are an appealing and economical alternative to current methods of soil recovery. Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Water is the most thorough literary examination of the subject available today. The successful implementation of phytoremediation depends on identifying plant material that is well adapted to specific toxic sites. Gentle remediation is then applied in situ, or at the contamination site. No soil excavation or transport is necessary. This severely contains the potential risk of the pollutants entering the food chain. And it's cost effective. The progress of modern man has created many sites contaminated with heavy metals. The effected land is toxic to plants and animals , which creates considerable public interest in remediation. But the commonly used remedies are ex situ, which poses an expensive dilemma and an even greater threat. Phytoremediation offers the prospect of a cheaper and healthier way to deal with this problem. Read Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Water to learn just how far this burgeoning technology has developed.

Increasing competition in the world sugar industry, combined with the need to maintain the resource base and minimise negative impacts on the environment, mean that sugar industries around the world face many complex problems. These challenges are shared by many other intensive cropping industries. However, advances in crop physiology, biotechnology, management systems, systems analysis and modeling and economics and policy initiatives offer great opportunities for these industries to meet these challenges. This book appraises the current situation and set the agenda for sustainable sugarcane production into the future. The book has been developed from papers presented at the Sugar 2000 symposium held in Brisbane, Australia, in August 1996. All the elements of successful intensive crop production are discussed. These include the biological, climatic, economic and social aspects which must be taken into account and judiciously managed. Topics addressed include new gene technologies and their potential value for sugarcane, along with using knowledge of crop physiology to bring about high levels of yield. Other issues considered include the economics of resource use, such as irrigation, and the impact of sugarcane production on the environment. The book is essential reading for all research scientists working with sugarcane, including plant breeders, physiologists, agronomists and food technologists. It also provides general agronomists with a model system for intensive crop production that will be relevant to other sustainable cropping systems. It is also relevant to economists, regulatory authorities, and commodity traders.

Although the progress of environmental restoration projects in the Florida Everglades remains slow overall, there have been improvements in the pace of restoration and in the relationship between the federal and state partners during the last two years. However, the importance of several challenges related to water quantity and quality have become clear, highlighting the difficulty in achieving restoration goals for all ecosystem components in all portions of the Everglades. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades explores these challenges. The book stresses that rigorous scientific analyses of the tradeoffs between water quality and quantity and between the hydrologic requirements of Everglades features and species are needed to inform future prioritization and funding decisions.