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Journals
Toxics
Special Issues
Plant Uptake of Heavy Metals in Soil
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Plant Uptake of Heavy Metals in Soil

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Toxicity Reduction and Environmental Remediation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2026 | Viewed by 795

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Guo Yu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Interests: soil remediation; hyperaccumulator; rhizosphere; abiotic stress; metal transporter
Dr. Habib Ullah

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: heavy metals; drinking water quality; water quality; assessment environmental geochemistry; hydrogeochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metal contamination in soils poses a significant threat to global food security, environmental quality, and human health. Conventional remediation techniques are often costly, energy-intensive, and disruptive to soil ecosystems. In contrast, plant-based remediation strategies, especially when integrated with the synergistic action of soil microorganisms, offer sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. Plants can absorb, translocate, and sequester heavy metals through specialized uptake and detoxification pathways, while microorganisms in the rhizosphere contribute to metal immobilization or transformation via biochemical and enzymatic processes.

This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research on the interactions between plants and soil microbiota in the context of heavy metal remediation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Mechanisms of plant uptake, transport, and sequestration of heavy metals.
  • Microbial transformation or stabilization of heavy metals in contaminated soils.
  • Rhizosphere processes facilitating plant–microbe synergism in heavy metal remediation.
  • Multi-omics and advanced imaging approaches for elucidating plant–microbe–metal interactions.
  • Field applications, novel microbial inoculants, and plant–microbe consortia for sustainable restoration of co-contaminated soils.

Dr. Guo Yu
Dr. Habib Ullah
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. Toxics 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 remediation
  • hyperaccumulator
  • rhizosphere
  • in situ imaging
  • multi-omics
  • metals

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 2303 KB  
Article
Planar Optode Imaging Reveals Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity of Rhizosphere Microecology in Celosia argentea Under Cadmium Stress
by Yunpeng Ge, Kaiyang Ying, Songhao Zhang, Shenglei Wang, Yayu Fang, Jing Huang, Hua Lin, Ting Xu and Guo Yu
Toxics 2026, 14(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14010034 - 27 Dec 2025
Viewed by 553
Abstract
Understanding rhizosphere microscale processes is essential for evaluating plant–soil interactions under heavy metal stress. In this study, planar optode imaging was used to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of O2, pH, and CO2 in the rhizosphere of Celosia argentea, a [...] Read more.
Understanding rhizosphere microscale processes is essential for evaluating plant–soil interactions under heavy metal stress. In this study, planar optode imaging was used to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of O2, pH, and CO2 in the rhizosphere of Celosia argentea, a Cd hyperaccumulator, grown in Cd-contaminated and uncontaminated soils. The results demonstrated pronounced spatial heterogeneity, with O2 hotspots concentrated near root surfaces, localized rhizospheric alkalinization at root tips, and elevated CO2 levels reflecting active root metabolism. Under Cd stress, O2 levels were initially suppressed, while pH and CO2 increased, indicating adaptive physiological responses. As plant growth progressed, O2-enriched zones expanded, pH elevation persisted, and CO2 efflux continued, suggesting coordinated regulation of the rhizospheric microenvironment. These changes may influence microbial activity and nutrient dynamics in the rhizosphere, potentially supporting root function and plant adaptation under metal stress. This study provides mechanistic insights into root-induced microenvironmental regulation under Cd stress and demonstrates the potential of planar optode imaging for assessing plant-driven remediation processes in contaminated soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Uptake of Heavy Metals in Soil)
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