PhytoDec aimed at the construction of a Decision Support System (DSS) to assess the practical applicability of phytoremediation in quantitative terms; together 
with an annexed analytical protocol for monitoring purposes the DSS constitutes the main project deliverable. The DSS enables the assessment of practical 
applicability of the use of vegetation to abate soil pollution, in comparison to other soil remediation options, through relating cost parameters to environmental 
effectiveness parameters. The approach, adopted to reach this main project objective within the four years of project duration starts with filling the most 
important remaining process-related knowledge gaps, that greatly affect phytoremediation practical applicability, including:     
long term cost/benefit relationships;     
the importance of environmental side-effects;     
effective monitoring of phyto-stabilisation effects;     
prediction of phyto-extraction duration, based on soil chemical and plant physiological processes.     
During DSS-construction extensive attention is given to the validation of the DSS and more specifically its process-related calculation routines. This 
is achieved though carrying out mesocosm experiments and field trials during all four years of project duration. Extension to end-users starts in an early 
project phase, making use of all partner's scientific, political and potential end-user networks. At the end of the project a workshop will be organised to 
finally present the DSS to a representative and influential group of end-users at a European level. 
            

During the project a decision support system (Phyto-DSS) was constructed that enabled the assessment of cost/effectiveness relationships for the use of 
vegetation to abate soil pollution, in comparison to other soil remediation options;    
Phyto-DSS was validated in mesocosm experiments and field trials, evaluating numerous and greatly varying phytoremediation approaches under different 
conditions (climate, soil composition, pollution level and pollution history).    
Additional experiments and model development were carried out. The topics were:    
Improving phytostabilisation monitoring techniques through the application of specific and validated solvent extraction techniques.    
Quantification of environmental side-effects: soil ecological effects as a result of interaction with rhizosphere soil life and interaction with PAH-degradation 
(natural attenuation) in dredged sediments    
Evaluation of phyto-extraction 'fading out' mechanisms, supporting (or not) the model assumption, that plant uptake of heavy metals depends on actual 
bio-available fractions, i.e. heavy metals present in the soil solution.    
Improving arsenic modelling, to obtain a reliable 'transfer function' for arsenic to be used for the Phyto-DSS mechanistic basis.    
Carrying out plant physiological experiments (using autoradiography techniques) to study the fate of heavy metals in roots and shoots as a tool to select 
appropriate vegetation types for phytoextraction and phytostabilisation.    
Carrying out rapid soil additive tests to check general phytoavailability after amending different additives, using lettuce and tobacco as indicator 
plants. 
            

PhytoDec aimed at the construction of a Decision Support System (DSS) to assess the practical applicability of phytoremediation in quantitative terms; together 
with an annexed analytical protocol for monitoring purposes the DSS constituted the main project deliverable.    
    
The decision support system and the manual can be downloaded from the project web page (ready for application level.