There has been increasing interest by researchers in the
application of organisms and nutrients to contaminated
soils for effective biodegradation of oil. Various strains of
white-rot fungi capable of degrading aromatic
compounds were reported by Barr and Aust (1994). In
his own contribution, Reddy (1995) observed that lignindegrading
white-rot fungi have the unique ability to
degrade or mineralize a broad spectrum of structurally
diverse toxic environmental pollutants. Similarly, Lang et
al. (1995) reported that lignin-decomposing white-rot
fungi show extraordinary abilities to transform recalcitrant
pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).
They added that this unique capability may be used for
decontamination of oil polluted soils though a
lignocellulose substrate must be supplied for the survival
of the fungal species in the soil.
The analysis of Aislabie et al. (1998) indicates that the
low availability of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus),