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Agronomy
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Advances in Soil Remediation Techniques for Degraded Land
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Advances in Soil Remediation Techniques for Degraded Land

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2026 | Viewed by 2590

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio Ganga

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture Design and Planning, University of Sassari, 08100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: soil science; regional planning; remote sensing; geostatistics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira

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Guest Editor
Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal 14884-900, Brazil
Interests: nutrient management in agroecosystems; heavy metals in soil–plant systems; waste management for sustainable agriculture; soil fertility and fertilization; soil health for food security; fertilizers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Arun Dilipkumar Jani

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Chemistry, California State University, Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA 93955, USA
Interests: soil fertility management and crop nutrition; carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gian Franco Capra

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Architettura, Design e Urbanistica, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Viale Piandanna, 4, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: soil; soil rebuilding; soil contamination; reuse of wastes into the soil; socio-cultural; soil science; soil landscape evolution

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growth of the world's population requires better use of resources in all production sectors and, in agricultural activities, the possibility of using by-products would be one of the best strategies to produce food, generate income, and reduce the consumption of non-infinite environmental resources. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research or systematic reviews that address the possibilities of using by-products or sustainable technologies and strategies to improve the performance of agricultural and forestry activities, especially in degraded land and low-fertility agro-systems.

Dr. Antonio Ganga
Dr. Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira
Dr. Arun Dilipkumar Jani
Dr. Gian Franco Capra
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 remediation
  • soil quality
  • degraded land
  • byproduct
  • circular economy

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3599 KB  
Article
Development of a Biomineralization-Enhanced Immobilization Remediation Technology for Pb-Contaminated Soil Based on Coupling Maifanite and Bacillus mucilaginosus
by Xiaochen Chen, Mingbao Zhu, Zejiao Li, Haochen Fang, Yining Chen, Zhengrong Chen, Qian Guan, Jianyu Zhang, Xuchuan Zhang, Kaiqin Xu, Chunshuang Zhou and Jia Niu
Agronomy 2026, 16(6), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16060641 - 18 Mar 2026
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Abstract
Immobilized microorganism technology offers a promising approach for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soils. This study developed a novel bio-mineral composite (B-AM) by coupling acid-modified maifanite (AM) with Bacillus mucilaginosus to enhance lead (Pb) immobilization. Comparative experiments demonstrated that B-AM outperformed conventional amendments, including oyster [...] Read more.
Immobilized microorganism technology offers a promising approach for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soils. This study developed a novel bio-mineral composite (B-AM) by coupling acid-modified maifanite (AM) with Bacillus mucilaginosus to enhance lead (Pb) immobilization. Comparative experiments demonstrated that B-AM outperformed conventional amendments, including oyster shell, pristine maifanite, AM and B. mucilaginosus in Pb immobilization. The B-AM treatment optimized soil pH, improved soil fertility with increases in available potassium (1.06-fold) and available phosphorus (1.28-fold). Additionally, B-AM transformed Pb into more stable fractions, reducing labile Pb fractions by 52.52% while increasing the residual fraction by 88.36%. These improvements resulted in an 83.24% reduction in Pb accumulation and a 63.95% increase in the fresh root weight of radish. Mechanistic insights revealed that the enhanced remediation performance stems from both the individual contributions of AM (adsorption capacity) and B. mucilaginosus (biosorption and biomineralization) and their synergistic interaction. Specifically, AM acts as a carrier and pH buffer, promoting microbial proliferation and reducing Pb remobilization from cell lysis. The resulting sustained microbial activity further leads to the formation of stable Pb minerals. Collectively, our results establish a theoretical and practical basis for using B-AM to remediate Pb-contaminated soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil Remediation Techniques for Degraded Land)
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15 pages, 2400 KB  
Article
Biochar Improved Saline–Alkali Barrier and Sunflower Yield Under Drip Irrigation
by Tian Lan, Yan Wu, Tele Ba, An Xing, Zhaoming Wang, Adu Ergu, Lihong Tong, Mengzhu Song, Lechuan Zhang and Mei Hong
Agronomy 2026, 16(6), 593; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16060593 - 10 Mar 2026
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Abstract
Soil salinization is a major challenge affecting crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions. Amendments to agricultural soil under drip irrigation represent a potential strategy to ameliorate soil salinization. This study conducted a field experiment over two years to identify the impacts of [...] Read more.
Soil salinization is a major challenge affecting crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions. Amendments to agricultural soil under drip irrigation represent a potential strategy to ameliorate soil salinization. This study conducted a field experiment over two years to identify the impacts of desulfurized gypsum, biochar, and straw on sunflower yield and soil characteristics in salinized and alkalized soil. Soil amelioration significantly improved soil characteristics by reducing saline–alkali stress at a 0–15 cm soil depth. Increased and decreased surface soil moisture and density of soil bulk were achieved by the second year, respectively, through the application of straw and biochar. These soil amendments also significantly decreased soil electrical conductivity and pH, and the application of biochar significantly reduced the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR refers to the adsorption ratio of sodium ions to other ions in soil) and Na+ by 32.1% and 34.7%, respectively, compared with drip irrigation alone. Application of desulfurized gypsum combined with drip irrigation decreased soil pH, SAR, and Na+ by 0.25, 41.6%, and 38.1%, respectively, compared with drip irrigation alone. The three soil amendments significantly increased sunflower yields by 51.2–80.0% in the second year, with the biochar treatment showing the most significant impact. The results showed that combined biochar and drip irrigation could play an important role in ameliorating soil salinization in the Hetao Irrigation Area, thereby contributing to increased crop yields and sustainable agriculture. However, given the relatively short experimental duration and the single location of this study, as well as the lack of long-term monitoring of salt balance and drainage conditions, further research with extended timelines, expanded geographic coverage, and focused assessment of salt dynamics is needed to confirm and generalize these findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil Remediation Techniques for Degraded Land)
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14 pages, 1799 KB  
Article
Contrasting Effects of Desulfurization Gypsum and Aluminum Sulfate Application in Rice Cultivation on Soil Salinity and Sodicity on the Songnen Plain of Northeast China
by Yang Li, Jiaqi Xu, Linlin Fu, Jiaming Fan, Junhua Zhang, Juan Zhang and Qingfeng Meng
Agronomy 2026, 16(4), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16040406 - 8 Feb 2026
Viewed by 451
Abstract
Soil salinization has become a major threat affecting global arable productivity. Rice cultivation with amendment application is considered an important approach for saline–sodic soil reclamation. Saline–sodic soil without vegetation was selected as the study subject to investigate the effects of amendments in rice [...] Read more.
Soil salinization has become a major threat affecting global arable productivity. Rice cultivation with amendment application is considered an important approach for saline–sodic soil reclamation. Saline–sodic soil without vegetation was selected as the study subject to investigate the effects of amendments in rice cultivation on salinity and sodicity through a pot experiment. The results revealed that the application of desulfurization gypsum combined with aluminum sulfate to saline–sodic soil significantly contributed to decreases in soil salinity and sodicity. The soil pH in the 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm soil layers decreased from 9.41–9.84 to 8.06–9.24, whereas the exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) decreased from 28.98–33.24% to 19.76–30.82%, respectively. The increase in soil exchangeable Ca2+ was accompanied by a decrease in soil exchangeable Na+. Additionally, the application of desulfurization gypsum combined with aluminum sulfate to saline–sodic soil resulted in significant decreases in total alkalinity (TA) and the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and an increase in soluble Ca2+. The analysis indicated that soluble Ca2+ derived from desulfurization gypsum is the predominant factor affecting the variation in the soil pH, ESP, SAR, and exchangeable Na+ and Ca2+. The reductions in salinity and sodicity are attributed to the replacement of Ca2+ derived from desulfurization gypsum with Na+ on soil collides. Simultaneously, H+ formed by the hydrolysis of aluminum sulfate neutralizes HCO3− and CO32− in the water layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Soil Remediation Techniques for Degraded Land)
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