Green Biomonitoring: Using Plants to Trace Environmental Pollutants and Understand Their Physiological Responses

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 13 October 2026 | Viewed by 229

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Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa, 13/15 Armii Krajowej Av., 42-200 Częstochowa, Poland
Interests: ecotoxicology; oxidative stress; phytotoxicity; plants; ionic liquids; NSAIDs; chlorophyll fluorescence; microtox; toxkit
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental pollution remains one of the most pressing global challenges, affecting ecosystem stability, biodiversity, and human health. Anthropogenic emissions of heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, particulate matter, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and emerging contaminants continue to alter terrestrial and aquatic environments. Monitoring these pollutants effectively requires integrative and sustainable approaches.

Plants play a crucial role as natural bioindicators due to their ability to accumulate contaminants and respond through measurable physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes. Understanding plant responses not only enables pollution assessment but also improves our knowledge of stress adaptation mechanisms and ecosystem resilience.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue dedicated to the latest advances in green biomonitoring and plant-based environmental assessment.

This Special Issue aims to present innovative research on the use of plants as tools for tracing environmental pollutants and evaluating their physiological impacts.

The topic aligns with the journal’s scope by addressing environmental monitoring, ecological risk assessment, plant physiology, and sustainable environmental management.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Plant-based monitoring of heavy metals and trace elements.
  • Detection of persistent organic pollutants and emerging contaminants.
  • Air pollution biomonitoring using mosses, lichens, and urban vegetation.
  • Plant physiological and biochemical stress responses.
  • Oxidative stress markers and molecular biomarkers.
  • Omics approaches in environmental stress research.
  • Remote sensing and imaging techniques in plant biomonitoring.
  • Climate change–pollution interactions.
  • Phytoremediation and ecosystem restoration.
  • Standardization and methodological advances in biomonitoring.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Barbara Pawłowska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • green biomonitoring
  • bioindicators
  • environmental pollution
  • plant physiology
  • heavy metals
  • oxidative stress
  • biomarkers
  • omics technologies
  • air pollution
  • ecological risk assessment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 1681 KB  
Article
The Effect of 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride on Oxidative Stress and the Functioning of the Photosynthetic Apparatus in Maize Seedlings—The Modulatory Role of Exogenous Ascorbic Acid
by Barbara Pawłowska, Aleksandra Lechowska, Radomír Ščurek and Robert Biczak
Toxics 2026, 14(7), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14070589 - 3 Jul 2026
Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely used chemical compounds that may pose potential risks to the environment. In the present study, the effects of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMIMCl) on growth, photosynthetic performance, and oxidative stress in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were evaluated, and [...] Read more.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely used chemical compounds that may pose potential risks to the environment. In the present study, the effects of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMIMCl) on growth, photosynthetic performance, and oxidative stress in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were evaluated, and the role of exogenous L-ascorbic acid (AsA) in modulating plant responses to this stress was investigated. Plants were cultivated in soil contaminated with EMIMCl at concentrations ranging from 1 to 1000 mg·kg−1 of soil dry weight (DW) and treated with AsA at concentrations of 0.5–2 mM. EMIMCl significantly inhibited plant growth, reduced photosynthetic pigment content, and impaired chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, accompanied by increased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde equivalents (MDA) levels, indicating the induction of oxidative stress. Moderate doses of AsA partially alleviated EMIMCl-induced toxicity, whereas higher AsA concentrations under severe EMIMCl contamination intensified stress symptoms. These findings demonstrate a dose-dependent and biphasic role of AsA in maize responses to EMIMCl-induced stress. Full article
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