PHYTOREMEDIATION OF A MULTICONTAMINATED SOIL SUPPORTED BY INDIGENOUS HYDROCARBON-DEGRADER BACTERIA: MONITORING THE BIODEGRADATION ACTIVITY BY FTICR-MASS SPECTROMETRY

The phytoremediation of this soil was made possible only after a landfarming pre-treatment stimulating and supporting the microbial activity. The phytoremediation was further supported by the addition of a microbial consortium made up of indigenous bacteria showing in vitro PGP features. These pre-treatments enabled plants to efficiently uptake the co-contaminant metals (nickel and copper). These outcomes are particularly interesting since they confirm the potential of a fully biological process to simultaneously remove organic and inorganic contaminants. FTICR-MS technique was crucial in understanding the complexity of the contamination by providing valuable insights regarding which molecules were mostly degraded and which did not show biodegradation.