Eco-Environmental Risks of Emerging Pollutants and Their Relationships with Climate Change

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Emerging Contaminants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 1416

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
Interests: ecological restoration; biochar and nano-materials; environmental microbial technology and toxicology; environmental behavior of emerging pollutants; environmental pollution processes; environmental toxicology and chemistry

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Guest Editor
Hebei Engineering Research Center for Ecological Restoration of Seaward Rivers and Coastal Waters, Hebei University of Environmental Engineering, Qinhuangdao 066102, China
Interests: environmental pollution processes; ecological restoration; emerging contaminant behavior; environmental toxicology and chemistry; global climate change; biogeochemical cycles; microbial ecology

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Guest Editor
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Carbon Sequestration and Pollution Control, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
Interests: soil restoration; organic pollutant degradation; biochar materials; water treatment
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the eco-environmental risks associated with emerging pollutants have garnered significant global attention due to their persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity to soil and aquatic organisms. However, further research is required in terrestrial ecosystems and marine–terrestrial interface regions to more comprehensively characterize the presence and toxicity of these pollutants in such environments. These ecosystems are crucial for elemental exchanges and play a significant role in mediating complex interactions with climate change. In this regard, it is critical to understand how emerging pollutants, such as microplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and antibiotics, impact organisms in various environmental matrices and the subsequent effects on biogeochemical cycles, particularly carbon and nitrogen cycles. This Special Issue invites a broad range of theoretical, systematic, and technical analyses with respect to the following key areas:

  • Microbial responses to emerging pollutants under climate change: Studies should investigate how emerging pollutants such as microplastics and PFAS impact microbial communities in diverse environments, such as soil, water, and sediments. Research should examine how these impacts disrupt ecosystem processes, including nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Interactions between emerging pollutants and climate-induced environmental stressors: Research should explore how climate-induced changes, such as increased temperatures and altered precipitation patterns, affect the behavior and toxicity of emerging pollutants such as antibiotics and nanomaterials. This includes assessing their subsequent effects on environmental and human health risks.
  • Impact of emerging pollutants on biogeochemical cycles: This includes examining how emerging pollutants influence microbial-mediated processes such as nitrification, denitrification, and carbon mineralization, and their overall impact on carbon and nitrogen cycles.

Although the existing literature extensively covers the environmental fate and effects of traditional pollutants, there is a critical research gap regarding the dual challenge of emerging contaminants and climate dynamics. This Special Issue aims to address this gap by focusing on the physicochemical and microbial mechanisms underlying the interactions between emerging pollutants and climate change. The goal is to enhance our ability to predict and manage the ecological and health risks associated with these pollutants in a changing climate, ultimately contributing to more effective environmental protection strategies.

Prof. Dr. Jingchun Tang
Dr. Linan Liu
Prof. Dr. Shakeel Ahmad
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • emerging pollutants
  • ecological toxicity
  • microbial community structure
  • carbon/nitrogen cycling
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • marine-terrestrial interfaces
  • global climate change
  • sustainable development

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

15 pages, 280 KiB  
Review
Carbon Cycling in Wetlands Under the Shadow of Microplastics: Challenges and Prospects
by Linan Liu, Yizi Hua, Jingmin Sun, Shakeel Ahmad, Xin He, Yuguo Zhuo and Jingchun Tang
Toxics 2025, 13(3), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13030143 - 20 Feb 2025
Viewed by 733
Abstract
Wetlands are one of the most crucial ecosystems for regulating carbon sequestration and mitigating global climate change. However, the disturbance to carbon dynamics caused by microplastics (MPs) in wetlands cannot be overlooked. This review explores the impacts of MPs on the carbon cycles [...] Read more.
Wetlands are one of the most crucial ecosystems for regulating carbon sequestration and mitigating global climate change. However, the disturbance to carbon dynamics caused by microplastics (MPs) in wetlands cannot be overlooked. This review explores the impacts of MPs on the carbon cycles within wetland ecosystems, focusing on the underlying physicochemical and microbial mechanisms. The accumulation of MPs in wetland sediments can severely destabilize plant root functions, disrupting water, nutrient, and oxygen transport, thereby reducing plant biomass development. Although MPs may temporarily enhance carbon storage, they ultimately accelerate the mineralization of organic carbon, leading to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions and undermining long-term carbon sequestration. A critical aspect of this process involves shifts in microbial community structures driven by selective microbial colonization on MPs, which affect organic carbon decomposition and methane production, thus posing a threat to greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, dissolved organic matter derived from biodegradable MPs can promote the photoaging of coexisting MPs, enhancing the release of harmful substances from aged MPs and further impacting microbial-associated carbon dynamics due to disrupted metabolic activity. Therefore, it is imperative to deepen our understanding of the adverse effects and mechanisms of MPs on wetland health and carbon cycles. Future strategies should incorporate microbial regulation and ecological engineering techniques to develop effective methodologies aimed at maintaining the sustainable carbon sequestration capacity of wetlands affected by MP contamination. Full article
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