PubMed · 2026-06-22
African soils contaminated by mining and industry carry toxic heavy metals that don't break down and enter the food chain. This review shows how certain plants can extract, stabilize, or neutralize those metals—and how combining genomics, AI mapping, and community-led farming could turn cleanup into a resource.
Six heavy metals—lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, mercury, and copper—are the primary soil contaminants reviewed, all linked to serious health effects including cancer, kidney damage, and neurological harm.
Specific hyperaccumulator plants identified include Berkheya coddii for nickel and Haumaniastrum robertii for cobalt, demonstrating that African flora holds untapped phytoremediation potential.
A proposed framework combining geospatial machine learning (random forest algorithms and kriging) with molecular omics data could dramatically improve prediction of where contamination is worst and which plant strategies will work—though field validation of these models remains a critical gap.