Phytoremediation has been used as an emerging technology for remediation of soil contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs),ubiquitous persistent environmental pollutants derived from natural and anthropogenic processes,in the last decade.In this study,a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the potential of phytoremediation of pyrene from spiked soils planted with white clover(Trifolium repens)in the greenhouse with a series of pyrene concentrations ranging from 4.22 to 365.38 mg kg-1.The results showed that growth of white clover on pyrenecontaminated soils was not affected.The removal of pyrene from the spiked soils planted with white clover was obviously higher than that from the unplanted soils.At the end of the experiment(60 d),the average removal ratio of pyrene in the spiked soils with white clover was 77%,which was 31%and 57%higher than those of the controls with or without micobes, respectively.Both roots and shoots of white clover took up pyrene from the spiked soils and pyrene uptake increased with the soil pyrene concentration.However,the plant-enhanced dissipation of soil pyrene may be the result of plant-promoted microbial degradation and direct uptake and accumulation of pyrene by white clover were only a small part of the pyrene dissipation.Bioconcentration factors of pyrene(BCFs,ratio of pyrene,on a dry weight basis,in the plant to that in the soil)tended to decrease with increase in the residual soil pyrene concentration.Therefore,removal of pyrene in the contaminated soils was feasible using white clove.
