Dear Colleagues,

The loss of productive soil due to contamination and other degradation reasons and the excessive production of waste are two of the most pressing problems in today's society. For this reason, in this Special Issue, we want to unite these two problems and look for joint solutions, i.e., using by-products (biochar, hydrochar, compost, and inorganic amendments) to remediate contaminated soils (mine soils and brownfield soils) or improve soil quality (cultivated soils and farmlands). In addition, this Special Issue will include manuscripts that enhance the positive effect of amendments with other techniques such as phytoremediation or those that demonstrate crop improvements.

Dr. Elias Afif Khouri
Dr. Rubén Forján
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. Environments 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 1800 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.

Authors: Salgado, L.^1,2, Aparicio, L.¹, Afif, E.³, Gallego, J.L.¹, Forján, R.^1,3

Abstract: Due to population growth and the expansion of industry, mining, a key component in societal development, is expected to assume an even more significant role in the future. However, the mining industry produces a large amount of waste which, if not properly managed, presents environmental risks. In line with the principles of Nature Based Solutions and Zero Waste policies, recycling waste in the form of soil amendments could achieve both objectives by restoring degraded areas and reducing landfill waste. Nowadays, sustainable mining practices give priority to the restoration of the mined area at the same time as mining operations are progressing. One way of doing this restoration would be through the aforementioned soil amendments. This study is a pilot-scale field experiment. This study focuses on the remediation of degraded soil using dunite-based amendments, either separately or in combination with phytoremediation, to evaluate their impact on Cu and Ni mobility in a mining soil. A secondary goal was to look at how these amendments affect soil factors and vegetation. According to the findings, these amendments—particularly those that contained compost—successfully decreased the concentrations of available Cu and nNi in the soil. Composting significantly enhanced the soil's organic content, promoting healthier plant growth and greater biomass. The plants showed phytostabilising capacity for Cu and Ni in the soil treated with the amendments. In conclusion, dunite-based amendments combined with organic amendments could be a promising strategy to remediate contaminated mining soils respecting the principles of the NBS and Zero Waste guidelines. This would fulfil two key objectives in today's society, namely the remediation of degraded soils and the recycling or reduction of waste production through waste circularity.

Title: Critical review: Sustainable soil improvement and stabilisation techniques on floodplains for new-build houses

Authors: Hosannah Mwaungulu ¹, Dr Jonathan Oti ² , Prof John Kinuthia ^3, and Dr Paul Ryall ^4,

Abstract: The perception of flood risk can be explained as a component of the social factors, which interact with the geographic context to create flood exposure at floodplains across the globe. While living on floodplains is a chosen lifestyle, for several others, resettlements is not an option. The key hindrance however, of building in most floodplains is their geological incompetence, as the existing soils often lack suitable engineering characteristics. In Nsanje, Malawi, there are some reported cases of recurring fluvial flooding that is responsible for residential property damage. To support, better planning and design decision making for building new flood resilient residential properties at/near the Nsanje floodplains for landowners. This review aims to assess prospects of cost-effective soil improvement and stabilisation techniques such as vegetation-based soil remediation alongside soil stabilisation using waste materials. This research will directly inform the foundation detail to ensure general structural integrity and resilience against flood induced soil erosion.