TY - JFULL AU - M. Grifoni and G. Petruzzelli and M. Barbafieri and I. Rosellini and B. Pezzarossa and F. Pedron PY - 2017/11/ TI - Plants as Alternative Covers at Contaminated Sites T2 - International Journal of Environmental and Ecological Engineering SP - 728 EP - 733 VL - 11 SN - 1307-6892 UR - https://publications.waset.org/pdf/10008059 PU - World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology NX - Open Science Index 130, 2017 N2 - Evapotranspiration (ET) covers are an alternative cover system that utilizes water balance approach to maximize the ET process to reduce the contaminants leaching through the soil profile. Microcosm tests allow to identify in a short time the most suitable plant species to be used as alternative covers, their survival capacity, and simultaneously the transpiration and evaporation rate of the cover in a specific contaminated soil. This work shows the soil characterization and ET results of microcosm tests carried out on two contaminated soils by using Triticum durum and Helianthus annuus species. The data indicated that transpiration was higher than evaporation, supporting the use of plants as alternative cover at this contaminated site. ER -