Advances in Phytomanagement for Soil Health Restoration and Sustainability

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 460

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Plant Physiology and Morphology Laboratory, Crop Science Department, Agricultural University of Athens, Lera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: crop nutrition dynamics; sulfur physiology; crop agronomic biofortification physiology through foliar application; phytoremediation physiology
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Guest Editor
Crop Science Department, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: applied botany; phytoremediation; phytomanagement; soil health improvement; industrial cash crops; innovative farming systems; plant biodiversity in contaminated and marginal lands

Special Issue Information

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

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

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

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4220 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Micronutrient Availability Through Humic Substances and Vermicompost While Growing Artichoke Plants in Calcareous Soil: Insights from a Two-Year Field Study
by Mohamed Hafez, Zhao Zhang, Mahmoud Younis, Mahmoud A. Abdelhamid and Mohamed Rashad
Plants 2025, 14(8), 1224; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14081224 - 16 Apr 2025
Viewed by 255
Abstract
Calcareous soil poses challenges for crop production due to the limited availability of micronutrients in insoluble forms. This study evaluated various organic and biological treatments for managing deficiencies in iron, zinc, and manganese in artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) grown in calcareous soil [...] Read more.
Calcareous soil poses challenges for crop production due to the limited availability of micronutrients in insoluble forms. This study evaluated various organic and biological treatments for managing deficiencies in iron, zinc, and manganese in artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) grown in calcareous soil over two seasons (2023 and 2024). A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was employed, with 24 plots (5 × 8 m2 each) receiving the following five treatments: mineral fertilizer, humic substances, ALCRI-anti chlorosis, ALCRI-vermicompost, and ALCRI-bio-help. Each treatment was replicated three times. In the 2023 season, significant increases in micronutrient levels were observed following the application of the organic and biological treatments, particularly ALCRI-vermicompost and humic substances. Compared to the control group, the iron content (Fe2+) increased by 57.1%, reaching 715.6%. Zinc (Zn2+) rose by 66.1% to 686.4%, while manganese (Mn2+) and copper (Cu2+) increased by 56.9% to 685.2% and 44.9% to 673.4%, respectively. These positive trends continued into the 2024 season, with Fe2+ showing even greater gains of 103.4%, peaking at 824.0% in the plots treated with the ALCRI-vermicompost and humic substances. Zn2+ and Mn2+ displayed more modest increases of 36.9% and 58.0%, while Cu2+ exhibited a remarkable rise of 50.7%, reaching 861.2%, particularly for the ALCRI-anti chlorosis treatments. The results indicate that the application of vermicompost fertilizer, alone or in combination with humic substances, significantly enhanced the soil structure, as confirmed by the SEM examination, which revealed increased porosity and improved aggregation. These consistent improvements over two seasons strongly support the effectiveness of organic and biological treatments in enriching soil with essential micronutrients. Full article
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