Hyperaccumulators for heavy metals found in soils have the capability of accumulating large
amounts of pollutants without having any obvious physical effects or symptoms that depict toxication. The
concentration in the plant parts increases as the roots uptake the heavy metals from soil and depletes it
from these pollutants. The concentration of trace elements such as As, Zn, Ni, and Cd in the leaf of
hyperaccumulators usually becomes up to 100 times higher than that in the contaminated soil, which
clearly indicates a highly efficient cleanup of polluted soils. Also notable is
the higher accumulation of heavy metals in shoot regions as compared with the root system. Ideal phytoextraction can be carried out with
plants that produce a small amount of biomass as they mature. This process can also be used to take up
and concentrate economically important nutrients present in trace amounts in the lithosphere, a
phenomenon sometimes referred to as phytomining.