Growing perennial grasses on contaminated soils for phytoremediation and renewable energy: a nature-based solution to maximise energy and eco-system service provision?

Available data indicates 2.8 million potentially contaminated sites, just across the EU-28. While 650,000 sites have been registered, only 1 in 10 have so far been remediated[1]. The management cost of European contaminated sites is estimated at €6 billion annually[2]. The main types of contaminants are potentially toxic elements (including heavy metals). Similarly, a 2014 Government study in China found 16.1% of all soil and 19.4% of arable land showed contamination, with Cd, Ni and As being the main pollutants[3]. Meanwhile, the global challenge of feeding growing populations while still reducing greenhouse gas emissions leaves less agricultural for dedicated bioenergy crops[4]. Therefore, there is a pressing need to successfully combine nature-based decontamination through phytoremediation with bioenergy production.