Advances in Phytomanagement for Soil Health Restoration and Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

Demographic projections estimate that the global population will reach 9 billion by 2050 and level off between 9 and 12 billion people by the end of the century. As a result, global crop demand is expected to increase by 100–110 % between the present and 2050. However, the potential to expand the area available for arable farming is limited and the demand for land to produce food, fodder, and fiber, as well as for housing, will increasingly compete with the need of bio-based products and bioenergy. Marginal, contaminated, and saline land represent a vast underutilized resource that could—and should—be used in a sustainable way to grow plants for a large variety of profitable purposes.

Phytoremediation is a non-invasive technology that uses green plants to remove contaminants from the environment or to render them harmless. The two main sub-technologies of phytoremediation are: (i) phytoextraction, where plants remove metals from the soil and concentrate them into their harvestable parts; and (ii) phytostabilization, where plants reduce the mobility and bioavailability of contaminants in the environment either by immobilization or by prevention of migration.

A more recent aspect of phytoremediation is phytomanagement, which integrates remediation strategies with sustainable and profitable site management options. This innovative approach results in a net gain in soil functions and ecosystem services, while also generating economic revenue. To ensure the sustainability of phytomanagement applications, it is essential to use fast-growing, high-biomass-yielding, and value-added crops that can serve as feedstock for a wide range of industrial-scale products, such as biomaterials, bioplastics, pulp for paper, bio-lubricants, biochemicals, biofuels, and biochar. Special consideration should be given to using feedstock derived from contaminated sites. Promising plant candidates include several industrial non-food crops, which can produce raw materials with significant economic value. Examples of suitable crops are: flax, kenaf, hemp, miscanthus, switchgrass, giant reed, reed canary grass, castor, cardoon, willow, poplar, oak, eucalyptus, etc. Innovative agricultural practices and circular economy approaches are critical for the success of phytomanagement technologies. These strategies, coupled with sustainably designed value chains, enhance resource efficiency, boost economic viability, and support the creation of eco-friendly products, ultimately fostering long-term environmental and socioeconomic benefits.

This Special Issue invites original research, reviews, modeling approaches, and methods that examine the adaptability, growth, farming systems, and environmental and socioeconomic benefits of cultivating high-yielding industrial crops for the phytomanagement of marginal, saline, and contaminated lands in the context of climate change, highlighting the critical role of innovative agricultural practices, circular economy approaches, and sustainably designed value chains in advancing these technologies.

Prof. Dr. Dimitris L. Bouranis
Dr. Eleni G. Papazoglou
Guest Editors

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• phytoremediation
• industrial non-food crops
• adaptability
• innovative agricultural practices
• biostimulants
• circular economy
• sustainable value chains
• bioenergy
• bioproducts
• sustainability assessment