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Written and oral exam
The course is intended to provide students with fundamental knowledge on the cycle of the trace metals and metalloids in the soil/plant system. The course will provide specific knowledge on processes which cause the presence of inorganic xenobiotics in the soil and factors influencing the mobility, bioavailability and phytotoxicity of the trace metals and metalloids in soil. The course will also provide students with theoretical and applied knowledge on the strategies for the in-situ reduction of mobility and bioavailability of soil contaminants.
Introduction to soil chemistry. Natural and anthropic input of trace metals and metalloids to the soil. The main inorganic pollutants in the soil: phisyco-chemical properties and their biogeochemical cycle. The main biotic and abiotic factors that gouvern the dynamic, mobility and bioavailability of metal(loid)s in the soil/plant systems. Strategies employed by plants in the uptake/exclusion and detoxification processes for trace metals and metalloids. . Approaches for the in-situ reduction of mobility and bioavailability of inorganic xenobiotics in soil. Case studies: using amendments for the recovery of soils contaminated by inorganic xenobiotics.
Course handouts
Dynamics and Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in the Rootzone, 2011. H. Magdi Selim, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
Teacher up-front classes, laboratory classes, tutorials and seminars.
