Nonylphenol in agricultural soil system: sources, effects, fate, and bioremediation strategies

Abstract

Nonylphenol (NP), a persistent endocrine-disrupting compound, has emerged as a widespread contaminant in terrestrial ecosystems. While extensive research has delineated NP pollution in aquatic environment, its behavior in soil remains underexplored. This review advances the contamination pathways, ecotoxicological impacts, fate determinants, and bioremediation strategies of NP in agricultural soils. NP primarily enters farmlands through sludge amendment, wastewater irrigation, pesticide application, and atmospheric deposition. It induces multilevel soil dysbiosis and phytotoxicity via morphological, physiological, and metabolic disruptions. The abiotic and biotic processes, particularly indigenous microbial degradation and plant uptake, that influence the fate of NP in soil are also addressed. Furthermore, emerging bioremediation strategies, mainly bioaugmentation, phytoremediation, and earthworm-assisted technologies, show potential in enhancing NP bioremoval in the field. Additional research is necessary to strengthen legislation, establish toxicity endpoints, and regulate contamination of soil NP through agroecosystem-relevant field trials, incorporating realistic exposure scenarios and crops-specific human health risk assessments.