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Soil Ecotoxicology and Agroecosystems: Concerns, Innovations and Advances

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2026 | Viewed by 7352

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio Calisi

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Guest Editor

Department of Science and Technological Innovation, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Viale Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy
Interests: environmental pollution; soil ecotoxicology; bioindicator; biomarker; biomonitoring; water quality; agroecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Francesco Dondero

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Guest Editor

Department of Science and Technological Innovation, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Viale Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy
Interests: system biology; environmental biotechnology; soil ecotoxicology; molecular ecotoxicology; “omics” sciences
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Dr. Teodoro Semeraro

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Guest Editor

Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET‐URT Lecce), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: landscape, ecology and urban planning; agroecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the frenetic increment in human activities to improve the quality of life and increase technological development has, over time, altered the environmental balance, aggravating the problem of alteration in agroecosystems.

In particular, the capacity of agroecosystems to support a whole range of ecosystem services is severely compromised by various factors such as climate change, pollution, and water scarcity.

For this reason, there is a growing awareness of the need to focus above all on the development of new survey methodologies for the recovery and protection of agroecosystems.

This Special Issue aims to focus on the problems and progress of agroecosystems and soil ecotoxicology. In particular, the topics include the following:

Innovation in sustainable agriculture;
Pest management;
Relation between agroecosystems and soil pollution;
New emerging pollutants (nanomaterials, micro/nano-plastics, per and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), etc.);
New methodologies for the detection of soil pollution and reclamation;
Agriculture and climate change;
New bred “invasive” species and impact on agroecosystems;
Applications of purified wastewater reuse.

Submissions in the form of original research, short communication and review articles are invited.

Dr. Antonio Calisi
Prof. Dr. Franćesco Dondero
Dr. Teodoro Semeraro
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Applied Sciences 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 2400 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

soil ecotoxicology
agriculture
agroecosystems
emerging pollutants
pest management
invasive species
water reuse
climate change
reclamation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2712 KB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Different Tillage and Straw Management Systems on Herbicide Degradation and Human Health Risks in Agricultural Soils

by Yanan Chen, Feng Zhang, Qiang Gao and Qing Ma

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(14), 7840; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15147840 - 13 Jul 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1185

Abstract

Pesticide residues pose risks to the environment and human health. Little is known about how tillage and straw management affect herbicide behavior in soil. This study investigated the effects of different tillage practices under varying straw incorporation scenarios on the degradation of five commonly used herbicides in a long-term experimental field located in the maize belt of Siping, Jilin Province. Post-harvest soil samples were analyzed for residual herbicide concentrations and basic soil physicochemical properties. A human health risk assessment was conducted, and a controlled incubation experiment was carried out to evaluate herbicide degradation dynamics under three management systems: straw incorporation with traditional rotary tillage (ST), straw incorporation with strip tillage (SS), and no-till without straw (CK). Residual concentrations of atrazine ranged from not detected (ND) to 21.10 μg/kg (mean: 5.28 μg/kg), while acetochlor showed the highest variability (2.29–120.61 μg/kg, mean: 25.26 μg/kg). Alachlor levels were much lower (ND–5.71 μg/kg, mean: 0.34 μg/kg), and neither nicosulfuron nor mesotrione was detected. Soil organic matter (17.6–20.89 g/kg) positively correlated with available potassium and acetochlor residues. Health risk assessments indicated negligible non-cancer risks for both adults and children via ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation. The results demonstrate that tillage methods significantly influence herbicide degradation kinetics, thereby affecting environmental persistence and ecological risks. Integrating straw with ST or SS enhanced the dissipation of atrazine and mesotrione, suggesting their potential as effective residue mitigation strategies. This study highlights the importance of tailoring tillage and straw management practices to pesticide type for optimizing herbicide fate and promoting sustainable agroecosystem management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Ecotoxicology and Agroecosystems: Concerns, Innovations and Advances)

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16 pages, 2280 KB

Open AccessArticle

Vermicomposting Enhances Microbial Detoxification of Sewage Sludge, Enabling Potential Application of the Treated Product in Agroecosystems

by Ana Gómez-Roel, Manuel Aira and Jorge Domínguez

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(17), 7894; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14177894 - 5 Sep 2024

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2773

Abstract

Vermicomposting offers an eco-friendly solution to managing the sewage sludge generated in wastewater treatment plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial community composition, structure and functionality during the vermicomposting of sewage sludge. We analyzed samples of sewage sludge, earthworm casts and vermicompost by applying high-throughput sequencing 16S and ITS rRNA. Most of the bacterial (95%) and fungal taxa (99%) were eliminated and subsequently replaced by other microbial taxa originating from earthworms. Further changes resulted in a vermicompost with a more diverse bacterial (but not fungal) community. In addition, the earthworm activity led to an increase in bacterial and a decrease in fungal alpha diversity, resulting in greater differences in beta diversity between sewage sludge, casts and vermicompost. We also found that bacterial pathways associated with amino acid and plant hormone biosynthesis and antibiotic synthesis were enriched. Vermicomposting successfully eliminated most of the 10 human bacterial pathogens found in the sewage sludge. Simultaneously, parasitic and pathogenic fungal taxa were removed. Overall, vermicompost derived from sewage sludge is safer for disposal on land than raw sludge, particularly regarding their respective microbial compositions. This indicates that it could potentially be used as a soil organic amendment and fertilizer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Ecotoxicology and Agroecosystems: Concerns, Innovations and Advances)

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Review

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27 pages, 504 KB

Open AccessReview

The Future of Azoles in Agriculture—Balancing Effectiveness and Toxicity

by Maja Karnaš Babić, Ivana Majić, Andrea Dandić and Vesna Rastija

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(24), 12902; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152412902 - 7 Dec 2025

Viewed by 477

Abstract

Azole compounds are extensively utilized in plant protection products for managing pests and diseases in both agriculture and horticulture. Moreover, azoles are the most extensively used class of fungicides worldwide. In addition to being effective against human pathogenic fungi, they are used in the food and agricultural industries to prevent and control fungal infections in crops. Unfortunately, the extensive use of azoles and subsequent overexposure have led to undesirable effects on ecosystems and non-target aquatic and terrestrial organisms. In the last decade alone, the European Union (EU) has prohibited numerous pesticides, many of which are based on azoles. Numerous azoles, especially triazoles, pyrazoles, imidazoles, and oxazoles, are still approved as active ingredients in plant protection products in the EU due to their excellent activity and minimal environmental and health impacts. However, for some, the expiry date is as close as March 2026. A computational approach for estimating their effectiveness against harmful and non-target organisms in soil, as well as detailed research into the molecular mechanism of action, is used for further evaluation of the compounds. This review provides an overview of azole pesticides and a summary of recent knowledge addressing their toxicity, future prospects, methods, and strategies to overcome their limitations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Ecotoxicology and Agroecosystems: Concerns, Innovations and Advances)

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14 pages, 1616 KB

Open AccessReview

The Quirky Rot Fungi: Underexploited Potential for Soil Remediation and Rehabilitation

by Cátia Venâncio

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(3), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15031039 - 21 Jan 2025

Viewed by 2137

Abstract

Currently, when the role of biodiversity in maintaining and restoring ecosystems is widely discussed, rot fungi are far from being integrated into common policies, conservation laws, or risk assessment frameworks. Despite the widespread recognition of the natural role of rot fungi as decomposers and their capabilities for various industrial purposes (the treatment of effluents rich in organic or inorganic substances), their peculiar characteristics are poorly understood and investigated. Highlighting the potential of rot fungi is of paramount importance because, as natural resources, rot fungi align perfectly with soil sustainability and the green growth policies and strategies outlined in this decade by the European Commission (2021) and United Nations (2021). This short piece aims to highlight and encourage efforts that channel into the exploration of this group of organisms as bioinoculants and biofertilizers for agriculture and forestry, as remediators and rehabilitators of soils affected by anthropogenic contamination (e.g., metals, agrochemicals, and plastics), and devastated by phenomena arising from climate change (e.g., forest fires) by briefly presenting the pros and cons of each of these lines of action and how rot fungi characteristics may fill in the current knowledge gap on degraded soil rehabilitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Ecotoxicology and Agroecosystems: Concerns, Innovations and Advances)

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