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Potentially Toxic Elements: Source, Distribution, Risk Assessment and Remediation, 2nd...
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Potentially Toxic Elements: Source, Distribution, Risk Assessment and Remediation, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 1202

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Antonio Fernandes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural, Brazil
Interests: fertility management aimed at soil recovery; evaluation of potentially toxic elements in the environment; reference values for metals and remediation of soils contaminated by metals from the use of plants, organic residues, and biochar
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wendel Valter Da Silveira Pereira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Vale Institute of Technology—Sustainable Development, Belém 66055-090, Brazil
Interests: contamination by potentially toxic elements in the environment; recovery of soil contaminated by mining; soil fertility and fertilization; plant production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The second edition of the Special Issue, "Potentially Toxic Elements: Source, Distribution, Risk Assessment and Remediation", will focus on new research articles and reviews addressing potentially toxic elements and their impacts on ecosystems and human health. The first edition featured six publications on geochemical processes, contamination risks, and mitigation strategies in mining-impacted environments. In the second edition, we seek new studies evaluating metals (including rare earth elements as emerging contaminants) and metalloids with the potential to cause significant harm not only in mining areas but also in agriculture, smelting, urbanization, industrialization, and other areas. Innovative approaches for quantifying and mapping these contaminants in ecosystems are highly encouraged, as well as research on guideline value estimations, pollution levels, environmental risks, human health risks, and mitigation strategies.

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. Minerals 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 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

  • guiding values
  • heavy metals
  • metalloids
  • rare earth elements
  • geochemical mapping
  • environmental pollution
  • ecological risks
  • human health risks
  • pollution remediation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 4401 KB  
Article
Assessing Potentially Toxic Element Contamination in Agricultural Soils of an Arid Region: A Multivariate and Geospatial Approach
by Mansour H. Al-Hashim, Abdelbaset S. El-Sorogy, Suhail S. Alhejji and Naji Rikan
Minerals 2026, 16(1), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/min16010093 - 19 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 682
Abstract
Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a growing environmental concern, particularly in agricultural regions where soil quality directly affects crop safety and human health. This study evaluates PTE concentrations and ecological risks in agricultural soils of Hautat Sudair, central Saudi Arabia, [...] Read more.
Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is a growing environmental concern, particularly in agricultural regions where soil quality directly affects crop safety and human health. This study evaluates PTE concentrations and ecological risks in agricultural soils of Hautat Sudair, central Saudi Arabia, using contamination indices, multivariate statistics, and GIS-based spatial modeling supported by RS-derived land use/land cover (LULC) mapping. The results show that the mean concentrations of Ni (35.97 mg/kg) and Mn (1230 mg/kg) exceed international thresholds in several locations, while Pb (8.34 mg/kg), Cr (33.00 mg/kg), Zn (60.09 mg/kg), and As (4.25 mg/kg) remain within permissible limits in most samples. Contamination indices, including the Enrichment Factor (EF), Contamination Factor (CF), and Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo), highlight hotspot behavior, with isolated sites showing elevated concentrations approaching screening levels (e.g., Pb up to 32.0 mg/kg and Cr up to 52.0 mg/kg), whereas Ni and Mn exhibit the most pronounced local enrichment. The Pollution Load Index (PLI) varies from 0.24 to 0.80, indicating low to moderate contamination levels, while the Risk Index (RI) ranges from 10.43 to 41.38, signifying low ecological risk. Multivariate statistical analyses, including correlation matrices and principal component analysis (PCA), reveal that Ni, Cr, and Mn share a common source, possibly linked to anthropogenic inputs and natural geological background. Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test confirm the adequacy of the dataset for PCA (KMO = 0.797; χ2 = 563.845, p < 0.001). Spatial distribution maps generated using GIS and RS highlight contamination hotspots, reinforcing the necessity for periodic monitoring. By integrating indices, multivariate patterns, and spatial context, this study provides a replicable, research-driven framework for interpreting PTE controls in arid agricultural soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potentially Toxic Elements: Source, Distribution, Risk Assessment and Remediation, 2nd Edition)
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