Advanced Research on Soil Pollution and Sustainable Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

Soil pollution refers to dangerously high concentrations of contaminants in soil. It consumes fertile soils, with implications for global food security, human health, and agricultural sustainability. Soil pollution greatly affects the soil biological community structure and functional diversity. Consequently, it influences various ecological processes, in which microorganisms play important roles, including nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and plant–microbe interactions. Importantly, soil microbes can degrade or convert soil pollutants, which in turn facilitates the minimizing of their environmental risks.

Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices that provides the resources necessary for present human populations while conserving the ability to sustain future generations. Over the past decades, crop productivity has been increased significantly by using chemical fertilizers and pesticides; however, environmental pollution, pesticide residues in food chains, and soil salinization resulting from the overuse of agricultural inputs are receiving global attention. Alternative, sustainable approaches are clearly needed to maintain agricultural production while protecting the environment and ecosystem.

This Special Issue aims to explore the environmentally friendly approaches for agricultural production, food safety, and soil ecosystem health. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Remediation of polluted soils via the biodegradation of pollutants;
• Soil greenhouse gas reductions;
• Improvement and utilization of saline soil;
• Prevention and control of agricultural non-point source pollution;
• Enhancement of soil carbon sinks.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Zhihui Bai
Guest Editor

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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.

• soil pollution
• saline alkali soil
• biodegradation
• bioremediation
• biofertilizer
• greenhouse gas mitigation
• soil carbon sink
• sustainable agriculture