Hyperaccumulation in Sunflowers

Chloe Harrison

My research is focused on botany, the scientific study of plants, specifically the function of hyperaccumulator plants. Hyperaccumulation is the process of plants absorbing metals through the soil and can only be performed by certain plants. The three studies I reviewed related to hyperaccumulators and their purposes. The first source was a study about hyperaccumulator sunflowers and their ability to take in certain metals. Another study was about the processes in which hyperaccumulator plants can be used in the environment. Finally, the last study gave a real example of how hyperaccumulators have been used to decontaminate certain areas of the earth. Hyperaccumulator plants have the potential to become essential in reducing pollution. By breeding these plants to make them stronger, they will be more helpful to cleaning the environment. One example of how hyperaccumulators can help the environment is to clean areas such as nuclear blast sites, where there are so many metals and chemicals that other plants canot survive. After more research, scientists will be able to use these plants in areas all over the world. I will be pursuing the Ingenuity Innovation path where I hope to work in a field involving computer science.