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Bioengineering
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Engineering with Nature: Bioengineering Innovations for the Environment and Nature-Based...
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Engineering with Nature: Bioengineering Innovations for the Environment and Nature-Based Solutions

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 954

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kristian L. Dubrawski

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geography & Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
Interests: water; ecological health; community engagement; nature-based solutions; indigenous geographies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Engineering with Nature: Bioengineering Innovations for the Environment and Nature-Based Solutions”, seeks to showcase advances at the interface of biology and engineering that harness natural processes for environmental sustainability. As global challenges such as pollution, ecosystem degradation, and climate change intensify, the need for innovative, nature-based solutions (NbS) becomes increasingly urgent. Bioengineering provides powerful tools to design and optimize these solutions, from phytotechnologies that remediate air, water, and soil systems to bio-inspired materials and engineered ecological processes that restore resilience in natural and built environments.

We particularly welcome contributions that highlight how biological mechanisms can be leveraged for environmental applications, such as air and water purification, microbial bioremediation, or the integration of living systems into engineered infrastructures. Recent discoveries illustrate how fundamental biological processes can offer novel pathways for improving air and water quality, mitigating climate impacts, and safeguarding public health. By bringing together original research, reviews, and case studies, this Special Issue aims to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and inspire innovative strategies that align engineering practice with ecological principles. Our goal is to highlight bioengineering as a critical enabler of sustainable development and resilient, nature-integrated solutions for the future.

Dr. Kristian L. Dubrawski
Guest Editor

Saman Samadi
Guest Editor Assistant

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. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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

  • nature-based solutions
  • bioengineering
  • environmental sustainability
  • bioremediation
  • ecological engineering

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

10 pages, 907 KB  
Article
Preliminary Evidence of Exogenous Hydrogen Peroxide Formation via Plant Transpiration: Toward a Nature-Based Solution for Air Quality and Climate Mitigation
by Saman Samadi, Shabnam Sharifyazd, Ludwig Paul B. Cabling, Isaac Dekker, Barbara J. Hawkins, Heather L. Buckley and Kristian L. Dubrawski
Bioengineering 2025, 12(11), 1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12111201 - 3 Nov 2025
Viewed by 622
Abstract
Plants play critical roles as nature-based solutions to maintaining air quality and regulating biogeochemical cycles, yet the mechanisms underlying these complex systems remain poorly understood. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a globally present atmospheric oxidant, shows well-documented diurnal variation, but no [...] Read more.
Plants play critical roles as nature-based solutions to maintaining air quality and regulating biogeochemical cycles, yet the mechanisms underlying these complex systems remain poorly understood. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a globally present atmospheric oxidant, shows well-documented diurnal variation, but no direct link to plant transpiration has previously been reported. This study aimed to determine whether plants can produce exogenous H2O2 through transpiration and condensation, thereby revealing a novel pathway by which plants influence proximal and potentially global atmospheric chemistry. To investigate this, we examined a natural plant system undergoing photosynthesis and transpiration; our work was inspired by recent laboratory findings where spontaneous H2O2 was generated during the condensation of water vapour into microdroplets in engineered systems. Condensed water collected near leaf surfaces revealed H2O2 concentrations of 1–5 ppm, verified using both commercial peroxide test strips and spectrophotometric titration. Importantly, H2O2 production occurred only under light conditions when plants were transpiring, while controls without plants or without light showed no detectable levels. A strong distance-dependence was also observed, with minimal to no H2O2 detected beyond 40 cm from leaves. These findings suggest that plant-driven formation of water vapour and subsequent condensation produces measurable H2O2, establishing a previously unrecognized mechanism with implications for air quality improvement, atmospheric oxidation processes, and climate change modelling and mitigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Engineering with Nature: Bioengineering Innovations for the Environment and Nature-Based Solutions)
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