Cadmium Toxicity in Halophytes: An Implication for Phytoremediation Potential

Heavy metal contamination causes agricultural yield losses, raises environmental danger, and causes a dramatic drop in biodiversity. A non-essential element for plants, cadmium (Cd) is a dangerous metal that can damage ecosystems. Cd-contaminated soil damages important plant tissues, interferes with hormone metabolism, and inhibits the synthesis of proteins and carbohydrates. One new, affordable, and environmentally friendly method for preventing and controlling metal contamination is phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the best substitute for traditional physicochemical remediation methods, which are more costly, technically better suited for smaller regions, lead to secondary pollution, reduce soil fertility, and negatively impact the agro-ecosystem. Techniques for phytoremediation mostly rely on hyperaccumulator plants which employ a variety of tactics to regulate the detoxification of metals. More research is being done on the use of halophytes in phytoremediation because of their capacity to adapt to harsh environments and produce better outcomes for phytoremediation than species that are sensitive to salt. Since halophytes can adapt to hard settings and outperform species that are sensitive to salt in phytoremediation, more study is being done on the use of halophytes in the remediation of contaminated soils. Halophytic plants can withstand high salt concentrations in soils and water due to a variety of physiological mechanisms, including the secretion of substances like proline and oxalates that aid in restoring the osmotic pressure of cells, which increases the content of antioxidants in cells when exposed to salt stress or element toxicity. This chapter discusses halophytes as a great platform for using green remediation to clean up metal-contaminated soils and to understand the effect of Cd stress in halophytic plants.