Effect of silicon on reduction the availability of toxic elements in the soil: a brief review

Abstract

Soil pollution is a major environmental problem and also makes food production impossible, since 95% of food produced worldwide originates in the soil. There are numerous practices that when improperly made can cause soil contamination, in agriculture the inadequate use of fertilizers and agrochemicals can cause soil contamination by toxic elements. Silicon is already present in the soil in a natural way, but in recent years research is being developed using silicon-based residues to increase plants resistance to pests and diseases, such as soil corrective and for increased productivity, the results are satisfactory. Many published studies show the benefits of silicon in reducing plants stress, but there is still little information about silicon as a remediator of toxic elements in the soil, so the objective of this work was to search for already published works on this theme. Studies were found using different silicon sources and the application occurred in soils contaminated mainly with Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb.

Keywords

• silicate
• heavy metals
• remediation