Bioremediation of an oil-contaminated soil by fungal intervention

The central aim of this study was to determine if indigenous fungal species present in an oil-contaminated soil are capable of bioremediating the contamination. Some of the contamination has been present at a disused oil-recycling plant site for over two decades, and it was felt that the indigenous microbial species should have been subjected to specific selection pressure for a protracted period, thus effecting key enzymatic capabilities for degradation in situ. Two experimental approaches to a landfarming type or remediation were examined. The first involved a simple biostimulation process of soil fungi. The second incorporated an extensive isolation and screening program with subsequent bulking and reinoculation into the contaminated soil.