Heavy Metal and Rare Earth Element Pollution in Soil and Water: Sources, Geochemical Behaviors and Ecological Effects, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Soil and water are essential components of the critical zone, shaping biodiversity and human life while being influenced by natural and anthropogenic processes. Once heavy metals (HMs, e.g., Pb, Cd, As, Hg) and rare earth elements (REEs, e.g., La, Ce, Nd) enter into soil and water, they undergo complex geochemical processes such as adsorption–desorption, precipitation-dissolution, and redox transformations. These behaviors are strongly influenced by environmental factors like pH, organic matter content, and redox conditions, which affect their mobility, bioavailability, and long-term retention in soil-water matrices. However, their mobile fractions can contaminate water bodies due to persistence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation. REEs often infiltrate soil and water alongside HMs, leading to co-contamination from natural weathering, industrial discharges (e.g., mining and smelting), agricultural practices (e.g., fertilizers and pesticides), electronic waste recycling, and urbanization. Similarly to HMs, REEs can be mobilized into bioavailable forms under varying environmental conditions, including temperature, pH, and redox changes. Their unique behaviors in natural redox fluctuations, mineral absorption fractionation, and waste discharge highlight the need for deeper insights into their synergistic impact on inorganic pollution and environmental loads in soil and water.

A very successful Special Issue of Minerals, "Heavy Metal and Rare Earth Element Pollution in Soil and Water: Sources, Geochemical Behaviors and Ecological Effects", explored novel methodologies for assessing inorganic pollution in soil and water, including advancements in geochemical techniques, computational modeling, and hyperspectral analysis. These studies provided valuable insights into the interactions, transport mechanisms, and remediation strategies of HMs and REEs. Building on these findings, we invite submissions to a second volume on the same topic. The current edition investigates innovative approaches, particularly those integrating artificial intelligence, advanced computational methods, and novel data interpretation techniques. By addressing fundamental scientific questions and applied environmental challenges, this issue aims to present a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of research on inorganic contamination in soil and water ecosystems.

Dr. Yinxian Song
Dr. Yubo Wen
Dr. Saglara S. Mandzhieva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• HM and REE pollution
• soil and water ecosystem
• health risk assessment
• environmental loads
• speciation distribution
• modelling of pollutant transportation
• geochemical background
• weathering and soil-water interaction
• municipal and mining waste
• remediation technique

• Heavy Metal and Rare Earth Element Pollution in Soil and Water: Sources, Geochemical Behaviors and Ecological Effects in Minerals (15 articles)