The Transfer of Metal(loid)s in Soil–Plant Systems

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce this Special Issue of Plants (MDPI) entitled “The Transfer of Metal(loid)s in Soil–Plant Systems”. We welcome the submission of interdisciplinary work in the format of original research papers, case studies, and review articles.

Soils may harbor elevated concentrations of metal(loid) micropollutants arising both from natural and/or anthropogenic sources including sewage sludge application, wastewater irrigation, and agrochemical inputs. The contamination of agricultural soils by metal(loid)s is becoming a growing concern due to its implications for food safety issues, the associated health risks, and detrimental impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Cultivating plants for food or fodder on contaminated soils poses the risk of absorption and subsequent transfer to edible parts, potentially endangering human and animal health. Metal accumulation in plant tissues can result from the absorption of metals by root systems and/or from the deposition of airborne metal contaminants onto plant surfaces. The extent of metal(loid) accumulation in plant tissues is highly influenced by a multitude of factors including the physicochemical and biological properties of soils, the elements involved, and the plant species.

Submissions should encompass cutting-edge research on the origin, distribution, and behavior of metal(loid)s in soils, including their transfer within the soil–plant system. Emphasis should be given to rhizosphere processes influencing metal transfer, as well as methods for assessing bioavailability and conducting health risk assessments. Additionally, we strongly encourage the submission of papers focused on assessing the impact of sustainable farming practices, such as the use of organo-mineral amendments, crop rotation strategies, and microbial inoculation on the dynamics of micropollutants in the plant–soil system.

Prof. Dr. Ali Boularbah
Dr. Sofia Isabel Almeida Pereira
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. Plants 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 2700 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.

• metals
• metalloids
• natural origin
• anthropogenic origin
• bioavailability
• toxicity
• soil/plant transfer
• plant uptake
• rhizospheric mechanisms
• soil health
• organo-mineral amendments
• bioaugmentation
• cropping patterns