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Volume 15
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10.3390/land15081377
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Review

Potentially Toxic Elements in Fertilizers and Associated Risks for Soil Organisms: A Bibliometric and Meta-Analytical Assessment

by
Jéssica Nívea Magalhães Rodrigues
1,*,
Rafael Marques Pereira Leal
1,
Aline Renée Coscione
2,
Vanessa Matos Gomes
3 and
Dener Márcio da Silva Oliveira
3
1
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, P.O. Box 66, Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil
2
Instituto Agronômico, Avenida Barão de Itapura 1481, Campinas 13075-630, SP, Brazil
3
Laboratório de Manejo e Conservação do Solo e da Água, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Florestal 35690-000, MG, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Land 2026, 15(8), 1377; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081377
Submission received: 23 April 2026 / Revised: 2 June 2026 / Accepted: 4 June 2026 / Published: 31 July 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Pollution by Heavy Metals: Monitoring, Remediation, and Land Management Strategies)
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Abstract

Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from fertilizers represents a major issue threatening agricultural sustainability and global food security. This work conducted a bibliometric analysis and a meta-analysis on the occurrence of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn, Hg, and Fe in fertilizers and their implications for soil biota through risk assessment. The database used was Web of Science, and R software version 4.3.2 (bibliometrix and metafor packages) was utilized to perform bibliometric analyses (1116 documents) and meta-analysis with a five-year filter (548 articles). A total of 45 articles met all the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The risk assessment was based on a quotient risk approach, considering high and low fertilizer application rates, as well as the average and maximum reported metal concentrations. Legal limits were surpassed for Cd in phosphate rock; for Cd, Cu, Cr, and Zn in manure; and for Cd and As in compost. Overall, organic sources presented a higher risk than mineral ones, with major risks related to mid- to long-term applications. These findings highlight the urgent need for strict regulation of contaminants in fertilizers and technical legislation grounded on ecotoxicological data to preserve soil quality and promote agricultural sustainability.
Keywords: agricultural waste; inorganic contaminants; risk quotient; soil organisms agricultural waste; inorganic contaminants; risk quotient; soil organisms
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MDPI and ACS Style

Rodrigues, J.N.M.; Leal, R.M.P.; Coscione, A.R.; Gomes, V.M.; Oliveira, D.M.d.S. Potentially Toxic Elements in Fertilizers and Associated Risks for Soil Organisms: A Bibliometric and Meta-Analytical Assessment. Land 2026, 15, 1377. https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081377

AMA Style

Rodrigues JNM, Leal RMP, Coscione AR, Gomes VM, Oliveira DMdS. Potentially Toxic Elements in Fertilizers and Associated Risks for Soil Organisms: A Bibliometric and Meta-Analytical Assessment. Land. 2026; 15(8):1377. https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081377

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rodrigues, Jéssica Nívea Magalhães, Rafael Marques Pereira Leal, Aline Renée Coscione, Vanessa Matos Gomes, and Dener Márcio da Silva Oliveira. 2026. "Potentially Toxic Elements in Fertilizers and Associated Risks for Soil Organisms: A Bibliometric and Meta-Analytical Assessment" Land 15, no. 8: 1377. https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081377

APA Style

Rodrigues, J. N. M., Leal, R. M. P., Coscione, A. R., Gomes, V. M., & Oliveira, D. M. d. S. (2026). Potentially Toxic Elements in Fertilizers and Associated Risks for Soil Organisms: A Bibliometric and Meta-Analytical Assessment. Land, 15(8), 1377. https://doi.org/10.3390/land15081377

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