Chromium in Plants and Environment

This edited book brings together a diverse group of environmental science, sustainability, and health researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by chromium contamination of soil and plants. In recent years, contamination of the environment by chromium has become a major concern. Chromium is a non-degradable, harmful, and toxic pollutant which negatively affects the environment. It is unique among the heavy metals found in industrial wastewater and sewage and sludge, as it may exist as a trivalent cation and as anion in the hexavalent state in the pH range of agricultural soils. It is used on a large scale in many different industries, including metallurgy, electroplating, production of paints and pigments, tanning, wood preservation, chemical production, and pulp and paper production. These industries are contributing larger amount of chromium, which can ultimately have significant adverse effects on biological and ecological activities of ecosystem. Chromium enters the food chain through consumption of plant material. A high concentration of chromium has been found to be harmful to vegetation. As the chromium concentration in plants increases, it adversely affects several biological parameters and eventually renders the soil barren. The book sheds light on this global environmental issue and proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches and case studies from different parts of the world. This book is a valuable resource to students, academicians, researchers, and environmental professionals who are doing field work on chromium contamination throughout the world.