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Emerging Soil Pollutants: Detection, Risk Assessment, and Remediation

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A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 May 2023) | Viewed by 18196

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Helen Karasali

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Guest Editor

Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Scientific Directorate of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Laboratory of Chemical Control of Pesticides, 8 Stefanou Delta Street, Kifissia, 14561 Athens, Greece
Interests: pesticide residues; soil and sediment; soil environmental chemistry; soil contamination and monitoring; pesticides; method validation; risk assessment; fate and behavior of pesticides in the environment; agricultural solid waste management; nontarget analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Evangelia Tzanetou

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Co-Guest Editor

Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Laboratory of Chemical Control of Pesticides, 8 Stefanou Delta Street, Kifissia, 14561 Athens, Greece
Interests: pesticide residues soil; pesticides; method validation; regulatory science; chromatography; mass spectrometry; contaminants; bioactive compounds

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil is a key element for human health as it is a critical source for primary production, renewal of water resources, recycling of nutrients, biodiversity, and other ecological and biogeochemical functions. It is a complex mixture of living organisms, minerals, organics, and other constituents. Soils are polluted by a wide range of sources. Some of the polluting constituents are well-known and treated by appropriate methodologies for soil management and remediation. Currently, countless emerging pollutants such as pesticides are detected in the environment including soils. Pesticides can be spread from soil to aquifers, thus, contaminating them. The lack of knowledge on their fate and transfer behavior represents a substantial challenge for soil and, consequently, land management.

The challenges posed by emerging contaminants in soils are crucial and require rigorous actions and collaboration. There is a need for monitoring data and risk assessment models, but also for awareness-raising and new guidelines and authority models to deal with emerging contaminants in soils. Detection of these contaminants in soil and sediment is particularly challenging due to the low detection limits required, their intricate nature, and the difficulty in separating these compounds from interfering.

This Special Issue is aimed at soliciting original contributions from academics, researchers, and other stakeholders providing data on the detection of monitoring soil quality as regards pesticide residues in different countries at regional, national, or continental scales. The editor encourages submissions with applications of innovative and/or novel methodologies to address the theme of the Special Issue. The scope of submission includes original research and review articles.

Dr. Helen Karasali
Dr. Evangelia Tzanetou
Guest Editor

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.

Keywords

Soil
Pollutants
Pesticide residues
Monitoring data
Risk assessment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 1572 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Short Term Effects of Chemical Fertilizer, Compost and Zeolite on Yield of Lettuce, Nutrient Composition and Soil Properties

by Victor Kavvadias, Zacharias Ioannou, Evangelia Vavoulidou and Christos Paschalidis

Agriculture 2023, 13(5), 1022; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13051022 - 7 May 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2974

Abstract

The proper management of treated agricultural wastes (e.g., composts) contributes to the protection of water and soil quality by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, lowering leachate, and protecting renewable and nonrenewable resources. Natural zeolites, particularly clinoptilolite, can be used in agriculture to improve soil quality and increase yields due to their unique properties. The objective of the study was to test the effects of the co-addition of compost, zeolite and ammonium-based fertilizer on the Above-ground Fresh Weight (AFW) of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), leaf nutrients and soil fertility. To this aim, a soil pot experiment was carried out at the Department of Soil Science of Athens, which is located in the region of Attica, in the area of central Greece. Two levels of olive compost originated from olive leaves (0% and 10% v/v), three levels of zeolite (0%, 2%, and 5% w/w) and two levels of chemical fertilization (no fertilization and NPK fertilization) were combined. Furthermore, two different soils were introduced, one moderately acidic (pH = 5.6) and sandy loam in texture (Ac-LT), and the other slightly alkaline (pH = 7.7) and sandy clay in texture (Al-HT). Results showed that the response of lettuce yield to chemical fertilization and zeolite application is soil type-dependent, whereas compost application significantly improved AFW in both soil types. The availability of macronutrients (P, K, and Na) in the soil, as well as their concentration in leaves, were significantly increased by NPK fertilization in most cases. Conversely, the impact of inorganic fertilization on DTPA extractable micronutrients and leaf micronutrient contents was found to be associated with the type of soil. The study recorded a significant reduction in available Fe, Cu, and Mn in AL-HT soil, whereas DTPA-Mn and -Zn were significantly enhanced in Ac-LT soil. Comparable patterns were also documented for the micronutrient concentration in leaves. In most cases, compost application had significant and beneficial effects on plant nutrients. On the contrary, different responses of soil properties to compost addition were registered. The main effect of compost treatment on soil pH, EC, SOM, total N, and available P was significant and positive in both soil types, except for pH and EC in Al-HT soil. On the other hand, exchangeable K and Na were significantly reduced by compost. Zeolite substantially increased the availability of P, K, and Na in soil and plants, whereas the concentrations of DTPA-extractable micronutrients and leaf macronutrients were largely unaffected. In addition, the results of our study indicated that co-additions of organic and inorganic amendments did not yield any significant impact on the lettuce yield, leaf nutrient content and soil fertility. It is suggested that the degree of changes in main soil properties (e.g., pH, EC, SOM) as a result of amendment application as well as the interaction of the amendments with nutrient availability are strongly related to soil type. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Soil Pollutants: Detection, Risk Assessment, and Remediation)

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14 pages, 650 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Dieldrin Case Study: Another Evidence of an Obsolete Substance in the European Soil Environment

by Petros Tsiantas, Evangelia N. Tzanetou, Helen Karasali and Konstantinos M. Kasiotis

Agriculture 2021, 11(4), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040314 - 3 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2994

Abstract

Soil constitutes a central environmental compartment that, due to natural and anthropogenic activities, is a recipient of several contaminants. Among them, organochlorine pesticides are of major concern, even though they have been banned decades ago in the European Union, due to their persistence and the health effects they can elicit. In the presented work, a gas chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric (GC-MS/MS) developed method was applied to soil samples after the suspected and potential use of formulations containing organochlorine active substance. One soil sample was positive to dieldrin at 0.018 mg kg⁻¹. Predicted environmental concentration in soil (PECsoil) considering a single application of this active substance potentially attributed the finding in its past use. The subsequent health risk assessment showed negligible non-carcinogenic risk and tolerable carcinogenic risk. The latter signifies that repetitive and prolonged sampling can unveil the pragmatic projection of persistent chemicals’ residues in the soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Soil Pollutants: Detection, Risk Assessment, and Remediation)

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Review

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65 pages, 8395 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

A Comprehensive Review of Organochlorine Pesticide Monitoring in Agricultural Soils: The Silent Threat of a Conventional Agricultural Past

by Evangelia N. Tzanetou and Helen Karasali

Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 728; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050728 - 21 May 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7141

Abstract

Soil constitutes the central environmental compartment that, primarily due to anthropogenic activities, is the recipient of several contaminants. Among these are organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), which are of major concern, even though they were banned decades ago due to their persistence and the health effects they can elicit. In this review, an overview of monitoring studies regarding OCPs in soils published over the last 30 years along with the development of analytical methods and extraction procedures for their determination in soil are presented. The presented synopsis verifies the soil contamination by OCPs during the last several decades. Soil pollution by OCPs should be an essential aspect of the characterization of whole soil quality, considering that a significant percent of soils on a global scale are in the borderline of suitability for cultivation and pertinent activities. The latter, to an extent, is attributed to the presence of organic contaminants, especially those of persistent chemical natures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Soil Pollutants: Detection, Risk Assessment, and Remediation)

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17 pages, 1108 KiB

Open AccessReview

Irrigation Induced Salinity and Sodicity Hazards on Soil and Groundwater: An Overview of Its Causes, Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

by Aadhityaa Mohanavelu, Sujay Raghavendra Naganna and Nadhir Al-Ansari

Agriculture 2021, 11(10), 983; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100983 - 9 Oct 2021

Cited by 66 | Viewed by 11043

Abstract

Salinity and sodicity have been a major environmental hazard of the past century since more than 25% of the total land and 33% of the irrigated land globally are affected by salinity and sodicity. Adverse effects of soil salinity and sodicity include inhibited crop growth, waterlogging issues, groundwater contamination, loss in soil fertility and other associated secondary impacts on dependent ecosystems. Salinity and sodicity also have an enormous impact on food security since a substantial portion of the world’s irrigated land is affected by them. While the intrinsic nature of the soil could cause soil salinity and sodicity, in developing countries, they are also primarily caused by unsustainable irrigation practices, such as using high volumes of fertilizers, irrigating with saline/sodic water and lack of adequate drainage facilities to drain surplus irrigated water. This has also caused irreversible groundwater contamination in many regions. Although several remediation techniques have been developed, comprehensive land reclamation still remains challenging and is often time and resource inefficient. Mitigating the risk of salinity and sodicity while continuing to irrigate the land, for example, by growing salt-resistant crops such as halophytes together with regular crops or creating artificial drainage appears to be the most practical solution as farmers cannot halt irrigation. The purpose of this review is to highlight the global prevalence of salinity and sodicity in irrigated areas, highlight their spatiotemporal variability and causes, document the effects of irrigation induced salinity and sodicity on physicochemical properties of soil and groundwater, and discuss practical, innovative, and feasible practices and solutions to mitigate the salinity and sodicity hazards on soil and groundwater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Soil Pollutants: Detection, Risk Assessment, and Remediation)

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