Plant Ecotoxicology and Remediation Under Heavy Metal Stress
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 99
Special Issue Editors
Interests: heavy metals; selenium-cadmium interaction; plant physiology; phytoremediation technology
Interests: heavy metal risk assessment; element migration and transformation; plant physiology; production area environment
Interests: heavy metals; plant nutrition; nitrogen; molecular biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Metals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury accumulate through industrial activities, mining, and agricultural practices, leading to phytotoxicity, reduced crop yields, and food chain contamination. This contamination of soils by heavy metals such as these poses a severe threat to global ecosystem security and agricultural sustainability. Historically, researchers have focused on understanding metal uptake mechanisms, toxicity symptoms in plants, and developing remediation strategies to restore polluted environments. Plant ecotoxicology integrates plant physiology, soil chemistry, and ecotoxicological risk assessment to address these challenges.
Aim and Scope of the Special Issue:
This Special Issue aims to explore molecular to ecosystem-level mechanisms of plant responses to heavy metal stress and advance innovative remediation technologies; consequently, it will focus on the following topics:
- Physiological and molecular mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity and detoxification in plants;
- Soil–plant interactions driving metal bioavailability and uptake;
- Phytoremediation technologies (e.g., phytoextraction or phytostabilization) and their field-scale applications;
- Synergistic approaches combining plants with microbes/nanomaterials for enhanced remediation.
Cutting-Edge Research:
Innovations in gene editing (e.g., CRISPR for hyperaccumulator traits), rhizosphere microbiome engineering, and nano-enabled phytotechnologies are revolutionizing remediation efficiency. Understanding signaling networks (e.g., hormone-mediated stress responses) and epigenetic regulation under metal stress is critical for developing climate-resilient solutions.
What Kind of Papers We Are Soliciting:
Original research articles, comprehensive reviews, short communications, and case studies on field applications.
Dr. Qingqing Huang
Dr. Haiwei Liu
Dr. Peng Wang
Guest Editors
Dr. Xichao Sun
Guest Editor Assistant
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- heavy metal stress
- phytotoxicity
- phytoremediation
- hyperaccumulator plants
- soil–plant interactions
- rhizosphere microbiome
- oxidative stress
- biotechnological remediation
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