From Agricultural Soils to Human Health: Exposure Sources, Intake Pathways, and Accumulation of Heavy Metals

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metals (HMs) exhibit a range of beneficial and harmful effects, necessitating a thorough understanding of their behavior. Critical HMs, including copper, zinc, iron, etc., play a vital role in tissue metabolism and the human body. Conversely, cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury, and chromium, etc., pose significant risks to crop growth and human health. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the migration and transformation of these HMs in agricultural soils, their accumulation mechanisms in crops, as well as the intake and exposure pathways in the human body. This knowledge is crucial for effective HM pollution control and the development of appropriate regulatory measures.

This Special Issue is dedicated to examining the ubiquity and verifiability of research regarding HM pollution in agricultural soils and its potential implications for human health. We invite submissions that explore sources, exposure pathways, human intake and accumulation, health risk assessment, and management strategies related to HMs in agricultural soils. This collection aims to bring together leading experts from various disciplines to advance understanding and solutions for this pressing environmental and health concern. We encourage submissions that offer innovative research, robust methodologies, and cross-disciplinary perspectives to advance our knowledge and response to HM pollution in agricultural soils.

Dr. Hui Huang
Dr. Di Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• heavy metal
• exposure source
• biogeochemical control
• upland soil
• paddy soil
• biological mechanism
• dietary intake
• non-dietary intake