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Soil Pollution and Remediation: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives, 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1991

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. George Fouad Antonious

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601, USA
Interests: animal manures; organic fertilizers; soil amendments; antioxidants; vitamin C; carotenoids; flavonoids; plant phenols; functional foods; plants bioactive compounds; soil enzymes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, due to intensifying agricultural, industrial, and commercial development, alarming amounts of toxic pollutants have been accumulating in agricultural soils. Consequently, soil has become a sink for various kinds of pollutants, including inorganic, organic, and biological pollutants, such as pesticides, fertilizers, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals. Soil pollution has been identified as a global environmental issue, posing potential risks to soil ecosystems, natural water resources, food security, and human health. Therefore, emerging soil remediation technologies are required in order to make polluted soils safer for humans and other organisms.

This Special Issue focuses on soil pollution with both traditional and emerging contaminants as well as novel and green remediation technologies to protect environmental quality and human health. The topics proposed for this Special Issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Occurrence, fate, and transformation of contaminants in soil;
  • Soil pollutant monitoring, modelling, and risk assessment.;
  • Risks, toxicity, and ecological effects of soil contaminants;
  • Interactions between soil components and pollutants and their impacts on soil ecosystems;
  • Novel environmentally friendly soil remediation techniques and approaches;
  • Impacts of soil contaminants on beneficial soil microorganisms and the release of enzyme secretions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. George Fouad Antonious
Guest Editor

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 pollution
  • inorganic, organic and biological pollutants
  • soil remediation
  • phytoremediation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1826 KB  
Article
Nitrogen Biostimulation of Petroleum-Contaminated Sandy Podzolic Soil Under Boreal Conditions: Effects of Temperature, Nitrogen Form, and Contamination Level
by Artur V. Duryagin, Ruslan Ya. Bajbulatov and Oleg S. Sutormin
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 4190; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16094190 - 24 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 294
Abstract
Petroleum contamination of soils remains a significant environmental problem in boreal regions, where low temperatures constrain natural attenuation processes and complicate bioremediation. Nitrogen biostimulation is widely used to enhance petroleum hydrocarbon degradation; however, the combined effects of temperature regime, nitrogen form, contamination level, [...] Read more.
Petroleum contamination of soils remains a significant environmental problem in boreal regions, where low temperatures constrain natural attenuation processes and complicate bioremediation. Nitrogen biostimulation is widely used to enhance petroleum hydrocarbon degradation; however, the combined effects of temperature regime, nitrogen form, contamination level, and nitrogen dosage remain insufficiently resolved for sandy podzolic soils of northern regions. This study investigated nitrogen-assisted biostimulation of petroleum-contaminated sandy podzolic soil collected in the Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug (Western Siberia, Russia) using a factorial experimental design. Soil samples were artificially contaminated with crude oil at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 g kg−1 and incubated under warm and cold temperature regimes. Two nitrogen sources, urea and ammonium nitrate, were applied at several dosages. Changes in residual petroleum hydrocarbon content were monitored together with the abundance of culturable microorganisms under the applied cultivation conditions at the intermediate contamination level on day 60. Nitrogen supplementation enhanced petroleum hydrocarbon removal relative to the untreated control, but the magnitude of the effect depended substantially on temperature, nitrogen form, and contamination level. Under the tested conditions, ammonium nitrate was generally associated with stronger hydrocarbon removal than urea, particularly at the intermediate contamination level (50 g kg−1). The results indicate that the response to nitrogen biostimulation in sandy boreal soils is controlled by interacting experimental factors rather than by nitrogen addition alone. These findings improve the positioning of nutrient-assisted remediation in cold-region soils and provide a basis for future mechanistic and field-scale studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Pollution and Remediation: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 1448 KB  
Article
Agronomic Potential of Digestates from Pig Slurry and Wine Vinasse Co-Digestion Under Temperature-Phased Anaerobic Digestion
by Belén Cañadas, José Luis Millar, Juan José Iglesias, Juana Fernández-Rodríguez and Montserrat Pérez
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(5), 2621; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16052621 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 478
Abstract
The management of Pig Slurry (PS) and Wine Vinasse (WV) poses major environmental and economic challenges, Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) offers a promising approach, producing both renewable energy and nutrient-rich digestates with agronomic potential. This study evaluated digestates obtained from the AcoD of a [...] Read more.
The management of Pig Slurry (PS) and Wine Vinasse (WV) poses major environmental and economic challenges, Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) offers a promising approach, producing both renewable energy and nutrient-rich digestates with agronomic potential. This study evaluated digestates obtained from the AcoD of a 50:50 mixture of pig slurry and wine vinasse under Temperature-Phased Anaerobic Digestion (TPAD) conditions. The acidogenic reactor reached stability at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 5 days, achieving 51.34 ± 3.08% of tCOD removal and approximately 0.5 L of daily green hydrogen production, whereas the methanogenic stage reached stability at an HRT of 10 days with 89.14 ± 2.33% tCOD removal and recording daily biomethane production of up to 1 L. Digestates were tested in germination assays using Lepidium sativum (garden cress), Lactuca sativa (lettuce), and Raphanus sativus (radish) seeds to assess phytotoxicity, and pathogen analyses were conducted to confirm sanitary safety (contains 0.8 × 103 MPN/gTS E. coli). Results showed that agronomic performance was primarily influenced by dilution level, at 10D–15D% dilutions, germination and root growth remained stable, with Germination Index (GI) values above 80%. In contrast, concentrations above 25D% led to marked inhibition, with GI values below 50%. These findings demonstrate that the TPAD system operates effectively when treating pig slurry and winery vinasse, producing digestates that are safe and effective organic amendments. Moreover, given their compliance with sanitary standards, these digestates can be classified as Class A biosolids suitable for agricultural application, provided that adequate dilution is ensured. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Pollution and Remediation: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives, 2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 2227 KB  
Article
The Effect of Petroleum-Derived Compounds in Soil on Microbiological Activity and the Physiological State of Plants
by Marcin J. Małuszyński, Bogumiła Pawluśkiewicz, Tomasz Gnatowski, Ilona Małuszyńska, Elżbieta Wołejko, Urszula Wydro, Martyna Prończuk and Piotr Dąbrowski
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 2076; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16042076 - 20 Feb 2026
Viewed by 642
Abstract
Petroleum contamination significantly impacts soil microbial communities and vegetation; however, the long-term effectiveness of phytoremediation remains poorly understood. This study evaluated soil microbiological activity, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations, and physiological responses five years after the remediation of a petroleum spill site in [...] Read more.
Petroleum contamination significantly impacts soil microbial communities and vegetation; however, the long-term effectiveness of phytoremediation remains poorly understood. This study evaluated soil microbiological activity, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations, and physiological responses five years after the remediation of a petroleum spill site in central Poland. Following a pipeline failure in June 2020 that released diesel fuel and gasoline into the riparian habitat, the contaminated area underwent remediation using Urtica dioica L. as the primary phytoremediator. Soil samples from five plots along a contamination gradient were analyzed for microbial abundance (total bacteria, fungi, fluorescent Pseudomonas sp.), PAH fractions (C6–C12, C13–C16, C17–C35), and physicochemical properties. Chlorophyll fluorescence (JIP test) on two species was used to assess plant photosynthetic efficiency. Results revealed that successful PAH degradation required high fungal abundance rather than optimal soil fertility. Plots with 8–9-fold higher fungal populations achieved 69–81% reduction in heavy PAHs (C17–C35), while the Control plot, despite superior physicochemical properties, maintained high contamination due to low fungal colonization. Urtica dioica exhibited exceptional tolerance (stable maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) and elevated photosynthetic performance index (PIabs)) across all contamination levels, whereas Poa trivialis L. showed significant stress responses. The principal component analysis confirmed that soil texture influences fungal establishment, with sandy soils favoring aerobic degradation despite lower nutrient retention. These findings demonstrate that phytoremediation success depends critically on fungal-mediated biodegradation rather than baseline soil quality alone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Pollution and Remediation: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives, 2nd Edition)
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