Emerging Soil Pollutants: Detection, Risk Assessment, and Remediation

Dear Colleagues,

Soil is a key element for human health as it is a critical source for primary production, renewal of water resources, recycling of nutrients, biodiversity, and other ecological and biogeochemical functions. It is a complex mixture of living organisms, minerals, organics, and other constituents. Soils are polluted by a wide range of sources. Some of the polluting constituents are well-known and treated by appropriate methodologies for soil management and remediation. Currently, countless emerging pollutants such as pesticides are detected in the environment including soils. Pesticides can be spread from soil to aquifers, thus, contaminating them. The lack of knowledge on their fate and transfer behavior represents a substantial challenge for soil and, consequently, land management.

The challenges posed by emerging contaminants in soils are crucial and require rigorous actions and collaboration. There is a need for monitoring data and risk assessment models, but also for awareness-raising and new guidelines and authority models to deal with emerging contaminants in soils. Detection of these contaminants in soil and sediment is particularly challenging due to the low detection limits required, their intricate nature, and the difficulty in separating these compounds from interfering.

This Special Issue is aimed at soliciting original contributions from academics, researchers, and other stakeholders providing data on the detection of monitoring soil quality as regards pesticide residues in different countries at regional, national, or continental scales. The editor encourages submissions with applications of innovative and/or novel methodologies to address the theme of the Special Issue. The scope of submission includes original research and review articles.

Dr. Helen Karasali
Dr. Evangelia Tzanetou
Guest Editor

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