Europe’s industrial legacy has left thousands of sites where soil is contaminated by complex pollutant cocktails, including Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals such as Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), and Zinc (Zn). This poses a severe risk for human health.
In IASIS, we are validating phytomanagement as an active strategy, focusing either on the active removal of contaminants (phytoextraction) or the stabilization and immobilization of pollutants within the soil matrix (phytostabilization). These phytomanagement solutions are being tested and validated within four dedicated Field Case Studies across Europe.
To ensure robust and comparable data across all case Studies, we implemented a highly standardized protocol for our contaminated sites. In all the field experiments we deployied specific crop varieties, and applied free amino acids as biostimulants to carefully evaluate its impact on plant resilience and estimated crop yield.
In Piekary Śląskie, Poland, the team of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University is validating phytomanagement strategies on a site heavily impacted by long-term mining and smelting activities. The soil is burdened with waste deposits, showing elevated concentrations of zinc, lead, and cadmium that exceed agricultural thresholds. Here, the researchers are testing crambe, camelina, and hemp for their phytoextraction capacities. The team applied biostimulants, including amino-acides and humic acides, to enhance plant resilience and harvested the crops in late July 2025.
In Lavrion, Greece, the Agricultural Univeristy of Athens team is tackling a severely degraded site on the Attika peninsula, polluted by historical mining and processing wastes of argentiferous galena. The soil presents extreme multimetal contamination, including lead and zinc levels far exceeding permissible limits, alongside arsenic and cadmium. The researchers cultivated crambe and safflower, with sorghum planned for the next cycle. To boost plant growth and metal extraction, the team tested specific biostimulants.
In Audincourt, France, the UBFC team is validating solutions on an industrial wasteland that formerly served as a train terminus, goods storage site, and an illegal dump for household waste. The soil suffers from mixed contamination of PAHs and heavy metals, compounded by harsh physical conditions: less than 10 cm of topsoil rests over a rocky backfill. Here, the team is testing nettle, alongside crambe and camelina. Despite facing extreme summer droughts with temperatures exceeding 35°C, the plants adapted, and the team harvested the first nettle crop in late September of 2025. To build soil resilience and improve water retention for the next planting cycle, they are applying compost and sowing green manure.
In Sclessin, Belgium, the teams of the University of Liege and Universitè Catholique Louvain manage a 2-hectare site that previously operated as a fertilizer and chemicals plant. The soil presents a complex challenge: it contains cyanides, 11 different PAHs, and heavy metals (such as copper, lead, and zinc) at total concentrations exceeding limits. After clearing the site of legacy industrial waste, stones, and trees, the team of researchers tested hemp alongside crambe and camelina. We tested biostimulants, including amino acids and vermicompost, to evaluate their impact on plant resilience. The team successfully harvested the first crop cycle between August and September, and we are currently analyzing the biomass for precise yield and metal content data.
The overall objective of this approach is two-fold. We restore soil functions while harvesting biomass that is safe for the non-food bio-based industry—converting a liability into feedstock for biobased products.