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Agriculture
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From Agricultural Soils to Human Health: Exposure Sources, Intake Pathways,...
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From Agricultural Soils to Human Health: Exposure Sources, Intake Pathways, and Accumulation of Heavy Metals

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4253

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hui Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: trace elements; free radical; bioavailability; dry-wet cycle; paddy soil; food safety; rice grain; exposure tracing
Dr. Di Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Petroleum and Environment Engineering, Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China
Interests: heavy metals; bioavailability; translocation; environmental exposure; microorganism; plant uptake; rhizosphere effect; soil remediation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metals (HMs) exhibit a range of beneficial and harmful effects, necessitating a thorough understanding of their behavior. Critical HMs, including copper, zinc, iron, etc., play a vital role in tissue metabolism and the human body. Conversely, cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury, and chromium, etc., pose significant risks to crop growth and human health. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the migration and transformation of these HMs in agricultural soils, their accumulation mechanisms in crops, as well as the intake and exposure pathways in the human body. This knowledge is crucial for effective HM pollution control and the development of appropriate regulatory measures.

This Special Issue is dedicated to examining the ubiquity and verifiability of research regarding HM pollution in agricultural soils and its potential implications for human health. We invite submissions that explore sources, exposure pathways, human intake and accumulation, health risk assessment, and management strategies related to HMs in agricultural soils. This collection aims to bring together leading experts from various disciplines to advance understanding and solutions for this pressing environmental and health concern. We encourage submissions that offer innovative research, robust methodologies, and cross-disciplinary perspectives to advance our knowledge and response to HM pollution in agricultural soils.

Dr. Hui Huang
Dr. Di Guo
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. Agriculture 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 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 metal
  • exposure source
  • biogeochemical control
  • upland soil
  • paddy soil
  • biological mechanism
  • dietary intake
  • non-dietary intake

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 14016 KiB  
Article
Geospatial Analysis, Source Apportionment, and Ecological–Health Risks Assessment of Topsoil Heavy Metal(loid)s in a Typical Agricultural Area
by Denghui Wei, Shiming Yang, Haidong Li, Ming Luo, Ying Wang, Yangshuang Wang, Yunhui Zhang and Bin Wang
Agriculture 2025, 15(9), 913; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15090913 - 22 Apr 2025
Viewed by 232
Abstract
Soil environmental protection has become a pressing issue for sustainable development. This study collected 153 topsoil samples from a typical agricultural area to evaluate the contamination characteristics of heavy metal(loid)s (HMs), identify their potential sources, and assess the associated ecological and human health [...] Read more.
Soil environmental protection has become a pressing issue for sustainable development. This study collected 153 topsoil samples from a typical agricultural area to evaluate the contamination characteristics of heavy metal(loid)s (HMs), identify their potential sources, and assess the associated ecological and human health risks. The results showed that the mean concentration of HMs was in the order of Zn > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cu > As > Cd > Hg; all HMs were below their background levels, except Cd. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and improved Nemerow index (INI) revealed that the overall pollution level was considered as no or slight contamination, while HMs posed low ecological risk according to the ecological hazard factor (Ei) and potential ecological risk index (PERI). In addition, three main sources were identified through the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model: natural source (48.2%; contributed As, Ni, Cu, Pb, and Zn), coal burning and waste disposal (24%; contributed Hg and Cd), and agricultural activities (27.8%; contributed Cr). The human health risk (HHR) assessment model and Monte Carlo simulation were applied to evaluate human health risks, and the results suggested that children faced higher health risks than adults, with 45.83% of samples exceeding the non-carcinogenic acceptable limit. As and Cr were the main contributors to non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks, respectively. The findings contributed to the local environmental management and sustainable development of agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Agricultural Soils to Human Health: Exposure Sources, Intake Pathways, and Accumulation of Heavy Metals)
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16 pages, 4440 KiB  
Article
Effect of Artificial Humic Acids Derived from Municipal Sludge on Plant Growth, Soil Fertility, and Dissolved Organic Matter
by Rongting Ji, Chenwei Liu, Qiujin Xu, Yue Zhang, Mei Chen, Longjiang Zhang and Feilong Hu
Agriculture 2024, 14(11), 1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14111946 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1639
Abstract
Due to its high nutrient utilization efficiency, liquid organic fertilizer has become a research hotspot in the field of agricultural planting. Artificial humic acids, which are near-nature products, can be deemed as a green liquid organic fertilizer, but few studies have been reported, [...] Read more.
Due to its high nutrient utilization efficiency, liquid organic fertilizer has become a research hotspot in the field of agricultural planting. Artificial humic acids, which are near-nature products, can be deemed as a green liquid organic fertilizer, but few studies have been reported, which has limited their further application. In this study, artificial humic acids were derived from municipal sludge, and their effect on rice growth, soil fertility, and dissolved organic matter was investigated using multi-chamber root box experiments. The shoot and root biomass of rice can be significantly enhanced by artificial humic acids, and the heavy metal concentration in rice was within safe limits. Artificial humic acids can limit the decrease in soil pH, especially in the far-rhizosphere zone, and improve the distribution of nutrients in the rhizosphere, near-rhizosphere, and far-rhizosphere zones. The use of artificial humic acids led to a significant decrease in soil electrical conductivity. The dissolved organic carbon content in the root zone was significantly increased, and the fluorescence intensity of dissolved organic matter in the rhizosphere was significantly increased. The proportion of specific components of dissolved organic matter was just slightly changed in the rhizosphere and near-rhizosphere zones. Artificial humic acids promoted the humification of dissolved organic matter in the near-rhizosphere and far-rhizosphere zones. The findings indicate that the environmental impact of artificial humic acids is significantly different from conventional chemical fertilizers, and they show huge potential in the agriculture field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Agricultural Soils to Human Health: Exposure Sources, Intake Pathways, and Accumulation of Heavy Metals)
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19 pages, 2746 KiB  
Article
Unveiling a New Perspective on Cadmium-Induced Hormesis in Soil Enzyme Activity: The Relative Importance of Enzymatic Reaction Kinetics and Microbial Communities
by Junyang Wu, Zhongwei Wu, Evgenios Agathokleous, Yongli Zhu, Diwu Fan and Jiangang Han
Agriculture 2024, 14(6), 904; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14060904 - 7 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1528
Abstract
Hormesis in soil enzymes is well-established, yet the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this novel study, we investigated the effects of low-dose Cd exposure (0, 0.03, 0.3, 3, and 30 mg·kg−1) in farmland soil within a typical constructed wetland environment. We [...] Read more.
Hormesis in soil enzymes is well-established, yet the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this novel study, we investigated the effects of low-dose Cd exposure (0, 0.03, 0.3, 3, and 30 mg·kg−1) in farmland soil within a typical constructed wetland environment. We assessed the activities of four soil enzymes (urease (URE), denitrification enzyme (DEA), dehydrogenase (DHA), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) at varying exposure durations (0 h, 24 h, and 48 h), evaluating hormetic characteristics across these time intervals. Additionally, we determined kinetic parameters, specifically the Michaelis constant (Km) and maximum reaction velocity (Vmax), for these enzymes while examining potential alterations in microbial community structure. Our findings revealed hormesis in all four soil enzymes at 24 h of exposure, with varying stimulus width and maximum hormesis rates. Interestingly, heavy metals did not significantly influence the diversity of soil microbial communities, but they did inhibit the ability of soil microbial communities to secrete extracellular enzymes. This resulted in a reduction in the soil enzyme pool and a consequential shift in overall soil enzyme activities. The conclusion of this study is that low-dose Cd primarily reduced extracellular enzyme secretion by soil microorganisms, leading to a reduction in the size of the soil enzyme pool and thereby inducing hormesis in soil enzyme activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Agricultural Soils to Human Health: Exposure Sources, Intake Pathways, and Accumulation of Heavy Metals)
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