Physiological response of Lolium perenne to petroleum pollution and removal efficiency in petroleum-polluted soil

Pot experiments under controlled conditions were conducted to study the physiological response of influence of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) to petroleum pollution and to evaluate the removal efficiency of hydrocarbon pollutants. The morphological and physiological characteristics such as height, root length, weight, chlorophyll content, activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) were investigated. Our results indicated that, due to crude oil pollution stress, the growth and antioxidant enzymes were inhibited more or less with increased crude oil concentrations, but ryegrass also showed resistance to crude oil pollutants and good potential in crude oil bioremoval. This study lays a preliminary foundation on phytoremediation of crude oil pollution in soil.