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environmental-contamination

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Environmental contamination refers to the presence of harmful pollutants—including heavy metals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and excess nutrients—in soil, water, and air that plants depend on for growth. Plants are uniquely sensitive indicators of contamination because they absorb substances directly from their environment through roots and leaves, making them both vulnerable to and useful for detecting pollution. Understanding how contaminants affect plant physiology, from disrupting photosynthesis to altering gene expression, is essential for developing pollution-tolerant crops and harnessing phytoremediation strategies to clean contaminated ecosystems.

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