Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-01-17DOI: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.01.004
Ayan SAHA , Kushal ROY , Md NAZIR , Dibyendu SAHA
Rice cultivation, vital to global food security and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), faces increasing threats from industrial pollution, which contaminates soil and water, endangers human health, and weakens agricultural resilience. Studies indicate that contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants, radioactive elements, dyes, and potentially toxic elements, particularly from mining and industrial activities, significantly degrade soil fertility, impair plant health, and introduce harmful residues into the food chain. This contamination compromises food safety and diminishes agricultural productivity, posing a serious challenge to sustainability. Addressing these impacts requires sustainable industrial practices, advanced technologies, and eco-friendly remediation techniques. Solutions like biochar applications, precision farming, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pollution detection provide effective measures for restoring soil health, protecting crop integrity, and ensuring the resilience of rice farming. These approaches align rice cultivation with global sustainability goals by integrating sustainable soil and water management, adaptive crop selection, and AI innovations. Protecting rice cultivation upholds farmer livelihoods and strengthens global commitments to SDGs Zero Hunger and a resilient, safe food supply, underscoring the essential balance between industrial progress and sustainable rice cultivation.
{"title":"Impacts of industrial contamination on rice cultivation: A review","authors":"Ayan SAHA , Kushal ROY , Md NAZIR , Dibyendu SAHA","doi":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rice cultivation, vital to global food security and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), faces increasing threats from industrial pollution, which contaminates soil and water, endangers human health, and weakens agricultural resilience. Studies indicate that contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants, radioactive elements, dyes, and potentially toxic elements, particularly from mining and industrial activities, significantly degrade soil fertility, impair plant health, and introduce harmful residues into the food chain. This contamination compromises food safety and diminishes agricultural productivity, posing a serious challenge to sustainability. Addressing these impacts requires sustainable industrial practices, advanced technologies, and eco-friendly remediation techniques. Solutions like biochar applications, precision farming, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pollution detection provide effective measures for restoring soil health, protecting crop integrity, and ensuring the resilience of rice farming. These approaches align rice cultivation with global sustainability goals by integrating sustainable soil and water management, adaptive crop selection, and AI innovations. Protecting rice cultivation upholds farmer livelihoods and strengthens global commitments to SDGs Zero Hunger and a resilient, safe food supply, underscoring the essential balance between industrial progress and sustainable rice cultivation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49709,"journal":{"name":"Pedosphere","volume":"36 1","pages":"Pages 229-239"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.11.006
Sen DOU , Yifeng ZHANG , Jun SHAN , Meng WU , Rui MA , Song GUAN , Zhongjun JIA
Soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial for ecosystem carbon cycling, soil fertility, and environmental quality. As the main component of SOM, humic substances (HS) are considered a unique category of nonuniformly assembled substances. It is widely accepted that HS are originated from small molecules produced during the decomposition of plant and animal residues or from residual macromolecules. These molecules can be recombined or condensed via enzymatic and mineral catalysis into quasi-macromolecular compounds or compound groups with high condensation (elevated C/H molar ratio) and relatively large molecular weight and are further stabilized by mineral association. Although HS can be regarded as an extension or a narrow definition of SOM, their properties are inherently more complex, and their chemical composition, structure, and formation processes remain controversial. Here, we examine the formation theories, compositional structure, stabilization mechanisms, and functional roles of SOM and HS. We propose that HS indeed differ from non-HS, with HS consisting of both residual and synthetic quasi-macromolecular substance components, which collectively form unique compounds or compound groups with independent characteristics. Consequently, HS remain fundamental to soil science and continue to be widely utilized through various HS-based technologies and products in agriculture and environmental fields.
{"title":"Soil organic matter revisited: Why humic substances still matter?","authors":"Sen DOU , Yifeng ZHANG , Jun SHAN , Meng WU , Rui MA , Song GUAN , Zhongjun JIA","doi":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial for ecosystem carbon cycling, soil fertility, and environmental quality. As the main component of SOM, humic substances (HS) are considered a unique category of nonuniformly assembled substances. It is widely accepted that HS are originated from small molecules produced during the decomposition of plant and animal residues or from residual macromolecules. These molecules can be recombined or condensed <em>via</em> enzymatic and mineral catalysis into quasi-macromolecular compounds or compound groups with high condensation (elevated C/H molar ratio) and relatively large molecular weight and are further stabilized by mineral association. Although HS can be regarded as an extension or a narrow definition of SOM, their properties are inherently more complex, and their chemical composition, structure, and formation processes remain controversial. Here, we examine the formation theories, compositional structure, stabilization mechanisms, and functional roles of SOM and HS. We propose that HS indeed differ from non-HS, with HS consisting of both residual and synthetic quasi-macromolecular substance components, which collectively form unique compounds or compound groups with independent characteristics. Consequently, HS remain fundamental to soil science and continue to be widely utilized through various HS-based technologies and products in agriculture and environmental fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49709,"journal":{"name":"Pedosphere","volume":"36 1","pages":"Pages 6-11"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.01.010
Babalola Aisosa ONI , Kingsley Chukwunonso AGU , Samuel Eshorame SANNI
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and pose an environmental risk. This review examined MP pollution in terrestrial ecosystems from a myriad of poorly understood sources. Knowledge regarding the occurrence sources, migration behaviors, ecotoxicology, absorption mechanisms, and effects of MPs has also been fully summarized. Microplastics interact with contaminants, such as antibiotics, pesticides, heavy metals, etc., and may act as vectors for contaminant transfer in terrestrial ecosystems. The transportation and retention of MPs in soil are governed by interactions among their inherent properties, such as size, shape, surface charge, and density. Interestingly, MP migration into soil is lacking research. The MPs and nanoplastics were also found in edible fruits and vegetables. The MP contamination in soil affects ecosystems, causing soil structure changes, fertility reduction, and pollutant leaching into groundwater. The MP concentration lies in the range of 43–2 443 and 40–43 000 items kg-1 in agricultural and urban soils, respectively. This review provides a comprehensive roadmap for future research and a framework for soil MP risk assessment. Future studies on the uptake, accumulation, and translocation of MPs and their associated toxins by plants are essential for evaluating their risks to food security and human health. Research on MPs in terrestrial habitats lacks comprehensive data on their long-term persistence, degradation pathways, and interactions with soil components under varying environmental conditions. Additionally, limited understanding exists regarding MP impacts on soil biodiversity, pollutant mobility, and plant uptake, highlighting the need for innovative detection methods and effective pollution abatement strategies.
{"title":"Occurrence of microplastics in terrestrial habitats: Hazards and pollution abatement","authors":"Babalola Aisosa ONI , Kingsley Chukwunonso AGU , Samuel Eshorame SANNI","doi":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.01.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.01.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and pose an environmental risk. This review examined MP pollution in terrestrial ecosystems from a myriad of poorly understood sources. Knowledge regarding the occurrence sources, migration behaviors, ecotoxicology, absorption mechanisms, and effects of MPs has also been fully summarized. Microplastics interact with contaminants, such as antibiotics, pesticides, heavy metals, <em>etc</em>., and may act as vectors for contaminant transfer in terrestrial ecosystems. The transportation and retention of MPs in soil are governed by interactions among their inherent properties, such as size, shape, surface charge, and density. Interestingly, MP migration into soil is lacking research. The MPs and nanoplastics were also found in edible fruits and vegetables. The MP contamination in soil affects ecosystems, causing soil structure changes, fertility reduction, and pollutant leaching into groundwater. The MP concentration lies in the range of 43–2 443 and 40–43 000 items kg<sup>-1</sup> in agricultural and urban soils, respectively. This review provides a comprehensive roadmap for future research and a framework for soil MP risk assessment. Future studies on the uptake, accumulation, and translocation of MPs and their associated toxins by plants are essential for evaluating their risks to food security and human health. Research on MPs in terrestrial habitats lacks comprehensive data on their long-term persistence, degradation pathways, and interactions with soil components under varying environmental conditions. Additionally, limited understanding exists regarding MP impacts on soil biodiversity, pollutant mobility, and plant uptake, highlighting the need for innovative detection methods and effective pollution abatement strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49709,"journal":{"name":"Pedosphere","volume":"36 1","pages":"Pages 317-341"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With the changing climate and escalating population, there will be extreme pressure on agricultural food production to ensure global food security. Traditional agricultural practices have relied heavily on hazardous pesticides and chemical fertilizers to boost crop yields. However, their continuous and excessive use has caused significant harm to non-target organisms, including humans, while also leading to a severe decline in soil health due to their indiscriminate and unbalanced application. Hence, serious efforts are needed to control this mounting problem of soil and environmental pollution. One effective strategy involves using microorganisms capable of solubilizing nutrients and breaking down pesticides. These microorganisms improve crop nutrient absorption by solubilizing essential nutrients and simultaneously degrade pesticide residues in soil. Utilizing this ability of microorganisms to degrade agrochemicals, microbial remediation offers a dependable and economical method for reducing the effects of such unwarranted contaminants. This review presents an extensive overview of pesticide use as well as microorganisms in soil as pesticide degraders, nutrient mobilizers (phosphate (PO43--P), potassium (K), and zinc (Zn)), and plant growth promoters for preventing the unsustainable exploitation of natural reserves. This review aims to highlight the diverse benefits these microorganisms offer across various domains while presenting an exciting opportunity to advance sustainable agriculture and firstly establishes a connection between nutrient solubilization and pesticide degradation mediated by microorganisms. It also offers a comprehensive bibliographic review of the application of plant growth-promoting microorganisms for solubilizing nutrients, such as P, K, and Zn, and degrading pesticides as well.
{"title":"Unraveling the potential of soil microorganisms for nutrient solubilization and simultaneous pesticide degradation toward sustainable agriculture","authors":"Shalni SATYA, Milap DASHORA, Preksha PALSANIA, Mohd Ashraf DAR, Garima KAUSHIK","doi":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.02.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the changing climate and escalating population, there will be extreme pressure on agricultural food production to ensure global food security. Traditional agricultural practices have relied heavily on hazardous pesticides and chemical fertilizers to boost crop yields. However, their continuous and excessive use has caused significant harm to non-target organisms, including humans, while also leading to a severe decline in soil health due to their indiscriminate and unbalanced application. Hence, serious efforts are needed to control this mounting problem of soil and environmental pollution. One effective strategy involves using microorganisms capable of solubilizing nutrients and breaking down pesticides. These microorganisms improve crop nutrient absorption by solubilizing essential nutrients and simultaneously degrade pesticide residues in soil. Utilizing this ability of microorganisms to degrade agrochemicals, microbial remediation offers a dependable and economical method for reducing the effects of such unwarranted contaminants. This review presents an extensive overview of pesticide use as well as microorganisms in soil as pesticide degraders, nutrient mobilizers (phosphate (PO<sub>4</sub><sup>3-</sup>-P), potassium (K), and zinc (Zn)), and plant growth promoters for preventing the unsustainable exploitation of natural reserves. This review aims to highlight the diverse benefits these microorganisms offer across various domains while presenting an exciting opportunity to advance sustainable agriculture and firstly establishes a connection between nutrient solubilization and pesticide degradation mediated by microorganisms. It also offers a comprehensive bibliographic review of the application of plant growth-promoting microorganisms for solubilizing nutrients, such as P, K, and Zn, and degrading pesticides as well.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49709,"journal":{"name":"Pedosphere","volume":"36 1","pages":"Pages 96-115"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01Epub Date: 2025-07-23DOI: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.07.012
Lanqin YANG , Yuechen YU , Yuanming WANG , Biao HUANG , Wenyou HU
{"title":"An index for characterizing bioavailability and risk of metals in soil-vegetable systems","authors":"Lanqin YANG , Yuechen YU , Yuanming WANG , Biao HUANG , Wenyou HU","doi":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.07.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2025.07.012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49709,"journal":{"name":"Pedosphere","volume":"36 1","pages":"Pages 358-362"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microplastics (MPs), fluoride (FR), and fungicide mancozeb (MZ) are common contaminants in soil. However, there is no information about the combined impacts of MPs, FR, and MZ on tomato plant growth features in the literature. This study aimed to investigate the effects of combined application of MPs, FR, and MZ (both analytical grade and commercial) on the growth and development of tomato plants and metagenomics of rhizosphere soil. A pot experiment was set up in an artificial greenhouse with two sets of treatments. One set was the combined application of MPs, FR, and analytical grade MZ (B2) and a control without the application of MPs, FR, and MZ (W2), and the other set was the combined application of MPs, FR, and commercial MZ (B3) and a control without the application of MPs, FR, and MZ (W3). No detrimental effects of MPs, FR, and MZ were detected on the growth parameters of tomato plants, including the number of leaves and chlorophyll concentration. However, tomato roots showed knot and nodulation-type structures, and metabolomic profiling revealed that combined exposure to MPs, FR, and MZ profoundly reprogrammed the primary metabolism in tomato roots, with marked alterations in carbohydrate and amino acid pathways. Metagenome whole genome sequencing showed that the B2 and B3 treatments profoundly affected soil microbial community composition, diversity, gene abundances, and functional gene variations compared to W2 and W3. Proteobacteria became the dominating phylum in B2 and B3, causing a significant shift in the microbiome. Its abundance soared to 66.7% in B2 and 75.4% in B3, compared to only 35.9% in W2 and 28.9% in W3. On the other hand, Actinobacteria decreased significantly from 55.6% in W2 and 63.8% in W3 to 18.1% in B2 and 9.6% in B3. This study highlights the microbial shifts due to combined application of MPs, FR, and MZ, providing evidence for understanding their environmental risks.
{"title":"Impacts of microplastics, fluoride and mancozeb on tomato plant growth and rhizosphere microbial dynamics: A metagenomic analysis","authors":"Ajay KUMAR , Rajni SHARMA , Muskan BOKOLIA , Riyapi DAS , Sanjiv KUMAR , Ravindresh CHABBRA , Baljinder SINGH","doi":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2024.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pedsph.2024.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microplastics (MPs), fluoride (FR), and fungicide mancozeb (MZ) are common contaminants in soil. However, there is no information about the combined impacts of MPs, FR, and MZ on tomato plant growth features in the literature. This study aimed to investigate the effects of combined application of MPs, FR, and MZ (both analytical grade and commercial) on the growth and development of tomato plants and metagenomics of rhizosphere soil. A pot experiment was set up in an artificial greenhouse with two sets of treatments. One set was the combined application of MPs, FR, and analytical grade MZ (B2) and a control without the application of MPs, FR, and MZ (W2), and the other set was the combined application of MPs, FR, and commercial MZ (B3) and a control without the application of MPs, FR, and MZ (W3). No detrimental effects of MPs, FR, and MZ were detected on the growth parameters of tomato plants, including the number of leaves and chlorophyll concentration. However, tomato roots showed knot and nodulation-type structures, and metabolomic profiling revealed that combined exposure to MPs, FR, and MZ profoundly reprogrammed the primary metabolism in tomato roots, with marked alterations in carbohydrate and amino acid pathways. Metagenome whole genome sequencing showed that the B2 and B3 treatments profoundly affected soil microbial community composition, diversity, gene abundances, and functional gene variations compared to W2 and W3. Proteobacteria became the dominating phylum in B2 and B3, causing a significant shift in the microbiome. Its abundance soared to 66.7% in B2 and 75.4% in B3, compared to only 35.9% in W2 and 28.9% in W3. On the other hand, Actinobacteria decreased significantly from 55.6% in W2 and 63.8% in W3 to 18.1% in B2 and 9.6% in B3. This study highlights the microbial shifts due to combined application of MPs, FR, and MZ, providing evidence for understanding their environmental risks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49709,"journal":{"name":"Pedosphere","volume":"35 6","pages":"Pages 1078-1088"},"PeriodicalIF":7.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145555062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2024-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.pedsph.2024.09.007
Qizhong XIONG , Shaojie WANG , Xuxiang CHEN , Jianyuan JING , Yonglin JIN , Hongying LI , Chaochun ZHANG , Yuji JIANG , Xinxin YE
Humic acid (HA) prevents phosphorus (P) fixation and promotes P absorption by plants, thereby effectively increasing the efficiency of phosphate fertiliser utilisation. Although nano-sized HA (NHA) might exhibit superior effects compared to conventional-sized HA (CHA), evidence is limited. Therefore, we investigated the effects of CHA and NHA applied with conventional phosphate fertiliser (CHA+CP and NHA+CP, respectively) on chilli pepper biomass, P uptake, and root morphology, as well as soil available P content, and evaluated CHA, NHA, and their residues in the soil for differences in specific surface area, functional groups, molecular weight distribution, and surface elemental compositions in a 40-d pot cultivation experiment. Results showed that the CHA+CP and NHA+CP treatments significantly increased pepper biomass and P uptake by 15.2%–24.7% and 37.9%–49.0%, respectively, compared to the conventional phosphate fertiliser applied alone (CP) treatment (P < 0.05), with NHA exhibiting a greater effect than CHA. This was primarily related to NHA's stronger ability to reduce P fixation than that of CHA. Soil available P content significantly increased by 5.8% and 3.8% in the NHA+CP treatment compared with CHA+CP on days 22 and 40 of cultivation, respectively (P < 0.05). Nano-sized HA contained more small-molecule components and carboxyl groups than CHA, which can more stimulate root elongation and thus promote root P uptake. Furthermore, fertiliser-derived P gradually entered the structure of CHA or NHA during cultivation. The presence of more plant-available forms (e.g., H2