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Soil and Sediment Health Assessment: Geochemical Properties, Pollutants and Other Factors

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 1257

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Mining Methods and Prospection, University of Oviedo, Calle San Francisco, 3, 33003 Oviedo, Spain
Interests: soil; sediments; heavy metals; PAHs; PCBs; organic matter; environmental risk assesment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Area of Physical Geography, GEAAT Research Group, Department of History, Art and Geography, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Interests: environmental geography; anthropocene; environmental geochemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soils and sediments are environmental compartments of vital importance for the biogeochemistry of nutrients, pollutants, potential toxic elements and other simple or complex molecules. In addition, these compartments also support and are the origin of many forms of life. Therefore, in order to prevent ecosystem impacts, it is essential to maintain their correct biogeochemical state. Anthropogenic activities, along with natural processes to a lesser extent, affect these compartments by altering various physicochemical properties or biogeochemical partitions, putting at risk their proper health and the ecosystems in which they are found.

For these reasons, the assessment of soil and sediment health is a global priority. This requires multidisciplinary research that addresses specific problems from different perspectives. 

This Special Issue will be devoted to studies (at local, regional or larger scales) and new analysis or evaluation techniques related to better understanding the parameters, or other factors, affecting soil and sediment health, as well as new techniques or applications to assess their proper physical, chemical or biological state. Other perspectives such as treatment techniques or processes to improve soil and sediment health, or studies related to important pollutants that increase scientific knowledge about both compartments, are also welcome.

All authors interested in this Special Issue are encouraged to submit their contributions and to contact the editors with any questions they may have.

Dr. Efren Garcia-Ordiales
Dr. Miguel Ángel Álvarez Vazquez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 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

  • soil
  • sediment
  • environmental risk assessment
  • pollutants
  • organic matter
  • nutrients

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 5869 KiB  
Article
Radon Dynamics in Granite and Calcareous Soils: Long-Term Experiments in a Semi-Arid Context
by Sara Gil-Oncina, Concepcion Pla, Javier Valdes-Abellan, Angel Fernandez-Cortes and David Benavente
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5910; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135910 - 6 Jul 2024
Viewed by 948
Abstract
Radon in soil poses a significant health risk when it accumulates inside dwellings. The estimation of radon potential is a difficult task due to the complex dynamics of radon within soil and its relations with the weather. This research focuses on the variability [...] Read more.
Radon in soil poses a significant health risk when it accumulates inside dwellings. The estimation of radon potential is a difficult task due to the complex dynamics of radon within soil and its relations with the weather. This research focuses on the variability of radon activity, driven by environmental changes, assessed in two loam soils (loamy sand–granite soil and silty clay loam-calcareous soil) with different radium contents. We conducted an experiment with teow soil columns in a semi-controlled outdoor laboratory, in a warm semi-arid climate. We also examined the consequences of abundant rainfall on radon activity through artificial soil water content (SWC) experiment conditions. Statistical analyses reveal that SWC is the most significant parameter influencing radon activity in these experiments. Radon is proportional to SWC and inversely proportional to temperature, evapotranspiration, and pressure in both soils, while wind is negatively related only in the loamy sand soil. Based on our findings, we modelled radon potential considering different soils and climatic contexts. SWC influences radon potential by changing radon emanation, activity, and permeability, depending on the local soil texture and radium concentration. Full article
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