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Innovative and Sustainable Approaches for Enhancing Soil Health and Mitigating...
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Innovative and Sustainable Approaches for Enhancing Soil Health and Mitigating Land Degradation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 2520

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anamaria Zaharia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Advanced Polymer Materials and Polymer Recycling Group, The National Institute for Research and Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry ICECHIM, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: synthesis and characterization of hydrogels with medical and agricultural applications; synthesis and characterization of bioinspired nanogels as ligand-free targeted delivery systems obtained with the use of molecular imprinting techniques; synthesis and characterization of interpenetrating polymer networks based on natural and synthetic polymers; synthesis and characterization of nanohybrid materials based on functionalization/tailoring of inorganic particles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Iustina Boajă

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Geological Institute of Romania, 012271 Bucharest, Romania
2. Politehnica University of Buharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: soil pollution; soil health; soil remediaton; potentially toxic elements
Dr. Ramona Balint

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geological Institute of Romania, 012271 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: arsenic contamination; heavy metals; iron (oxyhydr)oxides; soil redox conditions; organic and inorganic phosphorus; iron stabile isotopes; critical zone dynamics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to publish original research articles and recent review papers which may provide an innovative perspective and deepen our knowledge on the most recent approaches for enhancing soil health and mitigating land degradation.

Ecosystem services, such as food and water availability, climate resilience, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity, are closely linked to soil health status. At the moment, soil health assessment lacks an universal approach and is currently based on indicators derived from scarce, often biased, and incomplete data.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a forum for researchers to share their multidisciplinary solutions for assessing, maintaining, and restoring soil health.

The research topics in this issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

  1. Transport and fate of nutrients and contaminants in soil/sediments and water;
  2. Innovative solutions for preventing soil and water contamination;
  3. Approaches for the assessment of soil health indicators;
  4. New monitoring techniques for maintaining soil health;
  5. Sustainable solutions for soil remediation.

Restoring soil health and preventing land degradation are key objectives in safeguarding the future of the next generations; therefore, we encourage you to contribute to this Special Issue and publish your exciting results in this emerging field.

Dr. Anamaria Zaharia
Dr. Iustina Boajă
Dr. Ramona Balint
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. 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.

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 15307 KiB  
Article
Geochemical Background Values for the Characterization of Sediment Contamination with Trace Elements in Romania: A Case Study in the Lower Danube Basin
by Anca-Marina Vîjdea, Iustina Popescu, Alexandru Anton Ivanov, Veronica Elena Alexe, Natalia-Silvia Asimopolos and Lidia Lenuța Bălan
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(5), 2458; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15052458 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 484
Abstract
The contamination of the Lower Danube Basin with trace elements has been the subject of intense study in recent years, with several pollution indices being employed for the assessment of water, soil, and sediment quality. Most pollution indices are calculated by comparing the [...] Read more.
The contamination of the Lower Danube Basin with trace elements has been the subject of intense study in recent years, with several pollution indices being employed for the assessment of water, soil, and sediment quality. Most pollution indices are calculated by comparing the measured concentration to a reference value, with different values from various sources being used. In this study, the threshold values for trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in Romania were selected based on the median of their concentration in stream sediment from 167 locations, which were carefully selected to be far from contamination sources. The threshold values were established based on a calculation starting from the geochemical concentration presented in the Geochemical Atlas of Romania (scale: 1:3,000,000, developed in 2006 by a collaborative Romanian-German team). By using these thresholds, pollution indices were calculated for nine sampling locations, from which suspended sediment, bottom sediment, and active floodplain sediment samples were collected and analyzed in an accredited laboratory. Most of the selected thresholds were found to be below the limits for sediments established by Romanian legislation, except for Cr and Ni, the higher values of which are consistent with the specific geological background of the country and the broader Balkan region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Approaches for Enhancing Soil Health and Mitigating Land Degradation)
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15 pages, 1972 KiB  
Article
Spectrophotometric Determination of Biopolymers in Alabama Benchmark Soils
by Jonathan Alunge Metuge, Erneste Havugimana, Jean Rugandirababisha and Zachary Ngewoh Senwo
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(18), 8351; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14188351 - 17 Sep 2024
Viewed by 949
Abstract
Biopolymers are organic polymers synthesized by biological organisms. Cellulose, lignin, and proteins are important soil biopolymers known to bind soil particles to improve or strengthen soil structures and support agricultural productivity. In this study, we spectrophotometrically determined the amount of soil cellulose, acetyl [...] Read more.
Biopolymers are organic polymers synthesized by biological organisms. Cellulose, lignin, and proteins are important soil biopolymers known to bind soil particles to improve or strengthen soil structures and support agricultural productivity. In this study, we spectrophotometrically determined the amount of soil cellulose, acetyl bromide lignin, and autoclaved citrate extractable protein in soils in relation to other soil properties. Results showed acetyl bromide lignin > cellulose > autoclaved citrate extractable protein. High clay soils have relatively higher amounts of cellulose and lignin but have lower protein content. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the three biopolymers in the soils studied was autoclaved citrate extractable protein (56.8%), >cellulose (55.2%), >acetyl bromide lignin (44.7%). Pearson correlation analysis showed that soil cellulose was significantly related to cation exchange capacity (CEC), total nitrogen, soil organic matter, and available phosphorus. An increase in soil acetyl bromide lignin suggested an increase in soil organic matter and lower soil available phosphorus. Soil autoclaved citrate extractable protein was significantly correlated with extractable acidity. However, cellulose, acetyl bromide lignin, and autoclaved citrate extractable protein were not significantly correlated with permanganate oxidizable carbon (POxC), electrical conductivity (EC), and C:N ratio. We assume that the concentrations of biopolymers in soils are an intrinsic soil characteristic and contribute to general soil health and productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative and Sustainable Approaches for Enhancing Soil Health and Mitigating Land Degradation)
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