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Prof. Dr. Liandong Zhu

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School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: wastewater treatment; biofuels; waste recycling; sustainable development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The continuously increasing contribution of non-point source pollution from agricultural production has globally attracted increased attention. The selection of feasible prevention and control technologies is a key solution to reduce agricultural pollution in an effort to seek sustainable development. Based on the principle of ecological engineering, by using the advanced knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology and their interdisciplinary disciplines, efforts should be made to develop key technologies for agricultural pollution prevention and control, such as source pollution reduction, transmission process block and interception, nutrient recycling and utilization. To determine the stand of the latest available biotechnologies and keep the global academic communities up-to-date with the current advances in agricultural pollution prevention and control technologies, the journal Sustainability will publish a Special Issue of papers with a focus on the application of biotechnology for agricultural pollution prevention and control.

We would like to include articles that address vital current developments in agricultural pollution prevention and control through the available biotechnologies. We solicit high-quality, original research papers or review papers in the field.

Potential topics include (but are not limited to) the following:

Agricultural pollution reduction from the source;
Agricultural pollutant transmission process block and interception;
Nutrient recycling and utilization;
Interface process, transformation and biodegradation of antibiotics, hormones and other new agricultural pollutants;
Data-driven agriculture, such as smart agriculture;
Big data application in agricultural pollution control;
Innovative solutions for agricultural management;
Economic and environmental analysis of agricultural production.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Liandong Zhu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

non-point source pollution
agricultural pollution reduction
pollutant transmission process
pollutant interception
nutrient recovery
transformation
biodegradation
new pollutant
smart agriculture
agricultural policy
agricultural management
environmental risk assessment

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Effects and Mechanisms of the Eco–Substrate in Aquaculture Environment Restoration from an Ecosystem Perspective via the Ecopath Model

by Kai Zhang, Junxian Jiang, Zhifei Li, Ermeng Yu, Wangbao Gong, Yun Xia, Jingjing Tian, Hongyan Li, Wenping Xie, Jun Xie and Guangjun Wang

Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2955; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072955 - 02 Apr 2024

Viewed by 420

Abstract

Aquaculture supplies high-quality and healthy proteins. With the increasing human demand for aquaculture production, intensive pond aquaculture developed rapidly and results in environmental deterioration. To solve this problem, the eco-substrate (ES), which is the biofilm carrier, has been utilized in aquaculture ponds. Studying the ecological mechanisms of ES from the perspective of the ecosystem may be conducive to the sustainable development of aquaculture. In this study, it was evaluated how ES makes a difference to the trophic structure, energy flow, and system characteristics of two different aquaculture pond ecosystems via the ecopath model. Three aquaculture ponds with ES were designed as the treatment ecosystem and three aquaculture ponds without ES were designed as the control ecosystem. There were 13 and 14 functional groups in the control and treatment ecosystems, respectively. The results showed that (1) the macrozooplankton and microzooplankton showed strong effects on the ecosystem in the keystoneness index; (2) energy transfer pathways in the treatment system with ES increased by 26.23% compared to the control system; (3) the ES improved the utilization rate of detritus, which was 14.91% higher than that of the control ecosystem; (4) the material and energy flow index and network information characteristics demonstrated the ES enhanced the complexity and stability of the treatment system. To improve the energy utilization efficiency, filter feeders can be introduced to ES ponds. Overall, the ES can alter the trophic structure, improve the energy utilization efficiency, and enhance the stability and maturity of aquaculture ecosystems, representing a sustainable practice. Considering the total area of aquaculture ponds on the earth reaching more than 5 million hectares, the application prospect of ES is broad. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Agriculture: Pollution Prevention and Control Technologies)

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14 pages, 2617 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Risk Identification of Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution: A Case Study of Yichang City, Hubei Province

by Jinfeng Yang, Xuelei Wang, Xinrong Li, Zhuang Tian, Guoyuan Zou, Lianfeng Du and Xuan Guo

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16324; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316324 - 27 Nov 2023

Viewed by 693

Abstract

Potential risk identification of agricultural nonpoint source pollution (ANPSP) is essential for pollution control and sustainable agriculture. Herein, we propose a novel method for potential risk identification of ANPSP via a comprehensive analysis of risk sources and sink factors. A potential risk assessment index system (PRAIS) was established. The proposed method was used to systematically evaluate the potential risk level of ANPSP of Yichang City, Hubei Province. The potential risk of ANPSP in Yichang City was 18.86%. High-risk areas account for 4.95% and have characteristics such as high nitrogen and phosphorus application rates, large soil erosion factors, and low vegetation coverage. Compared with the identification results of the Diffuse Pollution estimation with the Remote Sensing (DPeRS) model, the area difference of the same risk level calculated by the PRAIS was reduced by 33.9% on average. This indicates that PRAIS has the same level of accuracy as the DPeRS model in identifying potential risks of ANPSP. Thus, a rapid and efficient identification system of potential risks of regional ANPSP was achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Sustainable Agriculture: Pollution Prevention and Control Technologies)

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