Green Roof Resource

Good summary article in Wired News on phytoremediation capabilities of genetically modified hyperaccumulators (plants that tolerate and sequester or volatilize high concentrations of metals in soils). “Attack of the Metal-Eating Plants,” by Stephen Leahy summarizes new advancements in the field and focuses on selenium and mercury uptake. It also references the online version of the journal Environmental Science and Technology for the related article by Norman Terry, a professor of plant and microbial biology at UC Berkeley. His research is on selenium uptake as selenium impacts irrigated soils in the Central Valley. Applied Phytogenetics is conducting work on mercury.

In my quest to get my hands around the whole modelling the fate and transport of contaminants in green roofs, I’ve started looking into plants. Now my background in horticulture is nonexistent, but I’m learning through my communications with people at the university about difference resources. Here’s an online database for phytoremediation that may be useful as it summarizes experimental data as well as plant specific data. Best of all, it provides citations for learning more.