Dendroremediation is the use of trees or woody plants to clean contaminated soil and water. Trees, with their large biomass, deeper, and more integrated root systems provide a unique means for deep cleansing of soils and aquifers.
Once established, the technology, which is in-situ, applicatble at various scales, requires less energy, lower capital and labor costs, can serve as an alternative to much more expensive engineering approaches.
Search for native and/or exotic trees to use as a means of cleaning up or remediating of environmentally contaminated sites.
We prefer the use of native, local, and indigenous tree species which can also incidentally provide for the protection of these species while restoring and preserving ecosystems, but we are also open to the possibility that exotics may actually perform as well, or better, as we search for "best" species.
Field screening for metal-decontaminating plant species by sampling of current species of woody plants on contaminated sites and analyzing for contaminant metals differences between contaminated and uncontaminated sites, as well as between species.
Controlled greenhouse study will be established to determine the uptake capacity of toxic metals by the most promising species of trees.