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Heavy Metals in Soil and Plants of Agroecosystems: Contamination and Remediation

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Earth Science and Medical Geology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 June 2023) | Viewed by 9892

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Monika Jakubus

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Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Szydłowska 50, 60-656 Poznań, Poland
Interests: biowaste management; soil chemistry; plant quality; bioeconomy; compost; digestion; biochar
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The topic of soil and plant contamination with heavy metals is valid and worthy of research attention. Soil contamination is one of the main global problems, whose significance was underlined in the Thematic Strategy For Soil Protection (UE COM 2012/46). It particularly concerns broadly understood agroecosystems, where the influence of anthropogenic factors is significant, and thus, there is a potential possibility of introducing heavy metals into the environment. There are many identified sources of heavy metals (agrochemical, byproducts of industry, domestic, livestock and municipal wastes, petroleum-derived products), and most of them can release these elements into soil and plants. Considering the easy incorporation of heavy metals into the food chain, it is important to assess the consequences of contamination of soil and plants with heavy metals on the quality of food produced and human health. According to the principles of sustainable agriculture, the release of heavy metals into the environment should be avoided, and if that is not possible, it should at least be limited. However, soils that have already been contaminated should be treated with remediation treatments. There are many remediation methods, the practical use of which is more or less limited by costs, time constraints, or low effectiveness. Nevertheless, it is necessary to strive for their further recognition and improvement so that they are highly effective in all conditions and, above all, to ensure that they limit the bioavailability of heavy metals for plants. Referring to the idea of zero waste, an interesting proposition may be organic and inorganic sorbents, which are often processed waste. It is common knowledge that agroecosystems must be monitored for the presence and magnitude of a heavy metal load, which is routinely carried out through chemical analysis. An interesting and complementary approach can be biomonitoring based on phytotests and indicator plants sensitive to heavy metals.

This Special Issue on “Heavy Metals in Soils and Plants of Agroecosystems: Contamination and Remediation” is devoted to the practical remediation methods of contaminated soils. The issue aims to provide a unique possibility to share studies, experience, and knowledge in the following main topics:

Effect of environmental conditions on the bioavailability of heavy metals;
Innovative and sustainable methods of soil remediation;
The role of organic and inorganic sorbents in the restoration of contaminated soils;
Possibility of waste utilization for heavy metal stabilization purpose in soil;
Assessment of crop contamination with heavy metals from a food security point of view;
Possibility of using phytotests in practice when identifying soil contamination with heavy metals.

Prof. Dr. Monika Jakubus
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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 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 2500 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.

Prof. Dr. Monika Jakubus
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Keywords

heavy metals
soil and plant contamination
remediation techniques
sorbents
agroecosystems
phytotests

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 6080 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Unveiling the Role of Dissolved Organic Matter on the Hg Phytoavailability in Biochar-Amended Soils

by Wenhao Chen, Zhigang Yu, Xu Yang, Tantan Wang, Zihao Li, Xin Wen, Yubo He and Chang Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3761; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043761 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1710

Abstract

Biochar can effectively reduce the phytoavailability of mercury (Hg) in soil, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, the dynamic changes in Hg content adsorbed by the biochar (BC-Hg), Hg phytoavailability in the soil (P-Hg), and soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics were determined over a 60-day treatment period. Biochar obtained at 300 °C, 500 °C and 700 °C reduced the P-Hg concentration assessed by MgCl₂ extraction by 9.4%, 23.5% and 32.7%, respectively. However, biochar showed a very limited adsorption on Hg, with the maximum BC-Hg content only accounting for 1.1% of the total amount. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) results showed that the proportion of Hg atoms in biochar after 60 d was barely detectable. Biochar treatment can shift soil DOM toward higher aromatic content and molecular weight. Additionally, the addition of high-temperature biochar increased more humus-like components, but low-temperature biochar increased more protein-like components. Correlation analysis and partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) showed that biochar promoted humus-like fractions formation to reduce the Hg phytoavailability. This research has deepened the understanding of the mechanisms by which biochar stabilizes Hg in agricultural soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metals in Soil and Plants of Agroecosystems: Contamination and Remediation)

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14 pages, 2500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecological Responses of Maize Rhizosphere to Antibiotics Entering the Agricultural System in an Area with High Arsenicals Geological Background

by Mengli Li, Yongshan Chen, Ying Feng, Xiaofeng Li, Lili Ye and Jinping Jiang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13559; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013559 - 19 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1316

Abstract

Metal(loid)s can promote the spread and enrichment of antibiotic resistance in the environmental ecosystem through a co-selection effect. Little is known about the ecological effects of entering antibiotics into the environment with long-term metal(loid)s’ resistance profiles. Here, cow manure containing oxytetracycline (OTC) or sulfadiazine (SA) at four concentrations (0 (as control), 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg) was loaded to a maize cropping system in an area with high a arsenicals geological background. Results showed that exogenous antibiotics entering significantly changed the nutrient conditions, such as the concentration of nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and available phosphorus in the maize rhizosphere soil, while total arsenic and metals did not display any differences in antibiotic treatments compared with control. Antibiotics exposure significantly influenced nitrate and nitrite reductase activities to reflect the inhibition of denitrification rates but did not affect the soil urease and acid phosphatase activities. OTC treatment also did not change soil dehydrogenase activities, while SA treatment posed promotion effects, showing a tendency to increase with exposure concentration. Both the tested antibiotics (OTC and SA) decreased the concentration of arsenite and arsenate in rhizosphere soil, but the inhibition effects of the former were higher than that of the latter. Moreover, antibiotic treatment impacted arsenite and arsenate levels in maize root tissue, with positive effects on arsenite and negative effects on arsenate. As a result, both OTC and SA treatments significantly increased bioconcentration factors and showed a tendency to first increase and then decrease with increasing concentration. In addition, the treatments decreased translocation capacity of arsenic from roots to shoots and showed a tendency to increase translocation factors with increasing concentration. Microbial communities with arsenic-resistance profiles may also be resistant to antibiotics entering. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metals in Soil and Plants of Agroecosystems: Contamination and Remediation)

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16 pages, 1704 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantitative Changes in Various Nutrient Ratios in Fodder Plants as an Effect of Compost and Fly Ash Application

by Monika Jakubus and Małgorzata Graczyk

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 8136; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138136 - 2 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1414

Abstract

Despite the popularity of concentrated feed, fodder crops are still important, especially in organic livestock farming. However, this type of feed must meet certain criteria, which are often described using correct nutrient ratios. The research investigates the influence of compost and fly ash on quantitative changes in nutrient ratios determined for lupine and oat cultivated on soil slightly contaminated with Cu. A pot experiment was conducted on medium soil. Immobilizing agents (compost and fly ash) were applied at the dose of 40 t per ha. Plant materials were subjected to chemical analyses to assess their macronutrient content and, based on these data, mutual proportions of individual nutrients were calculated as mass ratios of K:Mg, K:Na, Ca:P, Ca:Mg, K:(Ca+Mg) and (K+Na):(Ca+Mg). Changes in ratio values were visualized using statistical tools, i.e., Anova, correlation coefficients and dendrograms. It was found that immobilizing agents constituted a source of the chosen nutrients because their amounts in plants grown on the soil fertilized with either compost or fly ash compost were significantly higher than in the control plants. This phenomenon was especially visible with regard to Ca and Mg for both lupine and oat. It should be emphasized here that the effect of compost or fly ash on the content of Ca and K in plants was comparable. In general, the application of compost contributed to higher values of the analyzed nutrients in both plants. The control and fertilized fly ash plants were characterized by lower values of nutrient ratios. The expected optimal value range of 2–3:1 was determined only for Ca:Mg, which was found in both lupine and oats. The proper values of K:Mg (2–6:1) were found only in the case of fodder plants cultivated on soil amended with compost. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metals in Soil and Plants of Agroecosystems: Contamination and Remediation)

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Review

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17 pages, 1898 KiB

Open AccessReview

Bioremediation of Heavy Metals by the Genus Bacillus

by Monika Wróbel, Wojciech Śliwakowski, Paweł Kowalczyk, Karol Kramkowski and Jakub Dobrzyński

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064964 - 11 Mar 2023

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 4587

Abstract

Environmental contamination with heavy metals is one of the major problems caused by human activity. Bioremediation is an effective and eco-friendly approach that can reduce heavy metal contamination in the environment. Bioremediation agents include bacteria of the genus Bacillus, among others. The best-described species in terms of the bioremediation potential of Bacillus spp. Are B. subtilis, B. cereus, or B. thuringiensis. This bacterial genus has several bioremediation strategies, including biosorption, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)-mediated biosorption, bioaccumulation, or bioprecipitation. Due to the above-mentioned strategies, Bacillus spp. strains can reduce the amounts of metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, arsenic or nickel in the environment. Moreover, strains of the genus Bacillus can also assist phytoremediation by stimulating plant growth and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the soil. Therefore, Bacillus spp. is one of the best sustainable solutions for reducing heavy metals from various environments, especially soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metals in Soil and Plants of Agroecosystems: Contamination and Remediation)

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