Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Anthropic actuations such as the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals to increase agricultural productions, industrial activities, or the spill of wastewater without treatments lead to an accumulation of organic pollutants in the environment. Persistent organic pollutants (POP), which are chemicals that pose a serious threat to human health and environment, are especially dangerous. They remain in the environment as they are resistant to degradation and are bioaccumulative, so they are incorporated into the tissues of living organisms and may increase in concentration in the higher levels of the trophic chain, leading to toxic effects on human health. In addition, they have the potential to be transported over long distances, so they may appear in regions where they have never been used or produced. In this sense, soil and aquatic environments are extremely vulnerable, especially endhorreic basins located in arid or semiarid areas, where water carries contaminants to the discharge zone, and they are accumulated due to water evaporation, leading to hypersaline and contaminated environments. Apart from the effects of these contaminants on animals or plants, the accumulation of organic pollutants originates changes in the microbiological communities of soil and aquatic environments. Some of these microbes, adapted to extreme conditions of living, are capable of carrying out processes related to bioremediation and nutrient recycling.

The Special Issue of Applied Sciences “Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments” aims to cover recent advances in the detection and effects of organic pollutants in biological communities, the characterization of microorganisms communities present in contaminated soils and aquatic environments, and the possible decontamination processes mediated by these microorganisms or other mechanisms.

Dr. Manuel Álvarez-Ortí
Guest Editor

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