Potentially Toxic Elements in the Environment and Their Ecotoxicology

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of the journal Environments will bring together scientific contributions addressing contemporary challenges related to potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the environment. It will feature original research and review articles that explore the sources, distribution, behavior, and impacts of these contaminants across various environmental compartments, with a particular focus on ecotoxicology and risk assessment for human health and ecosystems.

PTEs—including heavy metals and metalloids (e.g., arsenic)—pose an increasing threat, especially in areas affected by anthropogenic activities such as agricultural expansion, mining, industrialization, and urbanization. The persistence and mobility of these elements in soil, water, and air demand integrated approaches for monitoring, modeling, and mitigation.

This Special Issue aims to advance knowledge in the following areas:

- Guideline and reference values for PTEs in different environmental matrices;

- Analytical techniques for quantifying and mapping contamination;

- Ecological and human health risk assessment, including predictive modeling;

- Remediation strategies such as phytoremediation, biochar application, and organic waste use;

- Studies on bioaccumulation, biomagnification, bioavailability, and bioaccessibility;

- Impacts of PTEs on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and environmental resilience.

By gathering interdisciplinary research, this Special Issue reinforces Environments’ commitment to sustainability, shared responsibility in natural resource management, and the development of innovative solutions to address environmental pollution.

We invite researchers, professionals, and policymakers to contribute manuscripts that deepen our understanding of PTEs and support evidence-based decision-making for environmental conservation and public health.

Dr. Yan Nunes Dias
Prof. Dr. Antonio Fernandes
Dr. Wendel Valter Da Silveira Pereira
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. Environments 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 1800 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.