Comparing the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil after different bioremediation approaches in relationto the extracellular enzyme activities

Abstract A 120-day experiment was conducted to compare the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from agricultural soil after natural attenuation (NA), phytoremediation (P), mycoremediation (M), and plant-assisted mycoremediation (PAM) approaches in relation to the extracellular enzyme activities in soil. The NA treatment removed the total soil PAH content negligibly. The P treatment using maize ( Zea mays ) enhanced only the removal of low and medium molecular PAHs. The Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated on 30–50 mm wood chip substrate used in M treatment was the most successful in the removal of majority PAHs. Therefore, significantly ( p in situ bioremediation strategies for PAH-contaminated soils.