Heavy Metal Pollution and Its Effects on Agriculture—2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 1865

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Žabovřeská 250, 156 27 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: soil contamination; potentially risky elements; persistent organic pollutants; contaminant assessment and monitoring; soil remediation; soil degradation; soil protection
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to announce the launch of a second Special Issue of Agronomy focused on problematic heavy metals and metalloids in agriculture. Heavy metals belong to a very well-known group of environmental contaminants. The main sources of heavy metals entering agricultural ecosystems should be defined. The differences between the behavior of heavy metals from natural and anthropogenic sources should be described. The topic of extreme geogenic load of agricultural soils by some heavy metals continues to be particularly important today, and the use of agrochemicals and (in)organic soil amendments with potentially increased heavy metal contents is a serious problem in agriculture. The impact of industrial and traffic emission outputs on agricultural soils is also significant. The study of heavy metal behavior in a soil environment and mobility and transfer in plants, water, and other parts of the environment is needed. Heavy metal contents in eroded agricultural soils and extracted sediments from ponds and water reservoirs can change the quality of agricultural soils and the water environment. Heavy metals can strongly influence soil functions, water quality, food chain quality, and human health. The knowledge of possible risks connected with increased heavy metal contents in agriculture and the potential of remediation techniques focused on a reduction in risks following contamination will be a valuable contribution to this Special Issue.

This Agronomy Special Issue will welcome contributions in the field of interest, including sources of heavy metals in agriculture, problematic heavy metal monitoring and assessment, inputs and monitoring of heavy metals in food chains, risk assessment, possible tools for heavy metal contamination management in agriculture, and remediation techniques applicable in agriculture.

Prof. Dr. Radim Vácha
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • heavy metals
  • agricultural soil
  • monitoring and assessment
  • plant production and food chain quality
  • risk assessment
  • legal instruments
  • remediation techniques

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 273 KiB  
Article
Yielding and Bioaccumulation of Zinc by Cocksfoot under Conditions of Different Doses of This Metal and Organic Fertilization
by Beata Kuziemska, Paulina Klej, Andrzej Wysokinski, Dawid Jaremko and Krzysztof Pakuła
Agronomy 2022, 12(3), 686; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030686 - 11 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1416
Abstract
Zinc is essential for the growth and development of plants, but in excessive amounts in the soil it can be toxic for them. Its mobility depends in part on the organic matter content of the soil. The aim of the study was to [...] Read more.
Zinc is essential for the growth and development of plants, but in excessive amounts in the soil it can be toxic for them. Its mobility depends in part on the organic matter content of the soil. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of application of increasing amounts of zinc (200, 400 and 600 mg Zn·kg−1 of soil) together with various forms of organic fertilizer (cattle manure, chicken manure and spent mushroom substrate) on the yield of cocksfoot and the content and uptake of this metal, and to determine its bioaccumulation factor and tolerance indices. A minor effect of zinc on cocksfoot, expressed as a decrease in yield, was observed following the application of 400 mg Zn·kg−1 of soil. Increasing application to 600 mg Zn·kg−1 caused a significant decrease in yield. Application of 400 and 600 mg Zn·kg−1 of soil significantly reduced the value of the Zn/Org tolerance index. Increasing levels of zinc application increased its content and uptake by cocksfoot and reduced the bioaccumulation factor in the plants. All of the organic materials applied increased the yield of cocksfoot and its uptake of zinc. Spent mushroom substrate increased the Zn/Org tolerance index, while cattle manure and chicken manure increased the Org/Zn tolerance index, which confirms their protective action against high zinc content in the soil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metal Pollution and Its Effects on Agriculture—2nd Edition)
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