Sustainable Water Resource Management: Controlling Nutrient and Contaminant Transport in Aquatic Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable water resource management requires a comprehensive understanding of how essential mineral nutrients and harmful contaminants are transported within aquatic systems. Water serves not only as a key carrier of health-promoting elements, such as calcium, magnesium, fluoride, and selenium, but also as a vector for pollutants that threaten environmental and public health. While mineral nutrients are critical for physiological functions including bone health, metabolism, and disease prevention, their spatial variability may lead to region-specific deficiencies or toxic accumulation. Simultaneously, the transport of contaminants, including inorganic compounds like heavy metals and nitrates, as well as organic pollutants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics, poses serious ecological and health risks. These include carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and endocrine-disrupting effects, particularly under chronic low-level exposure scenarios. This Topic explores the mechanisms and drivers of nutrient and contaminant transport, aiming to inform sustainable strategies for water quality control. By integrating insights from hydrology, geochemistry, environmental engineering, and public health, it highlights the need for adaptive solutions that support both safe water access and long-term ecosystem resilience in the face of growing pollution pressures and water scarcity.

The list of specific topics covered in this Topic is as follows:

1. Essential Mineral Nutrients in Water: Sources, Transport, and Health Implications.
2. Aquatic Transport of Contaminants: From Heavy Metals to Microplastics.
3. Geochemical and Hydrological Controls on Nutrient and Pollutant Mobility.
4. Spatial Variability and Regional Risk of Nutrient Deficiency and Toxic Accumulation.
5. Sustainable Water Resource Management under Pollution and Scarcity Stress.

Dr. Taotao Lu
Dr. Shuangcheng Tang
Topic Editors