IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i12p9380-d1168181.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Vermibiochar: A Novel Approach for Reducing the Environmental Impact of Heavy Metals Contamination in Agricultural Land

Author

Listed:
  • Sami ur Rehman

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Via Monteroni, I-73100 Lecce, Italy)

  • Federica De Castro

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Via Monteroni, I-73100 Lecce, Italy)

  • Paolo Marini

    (Compost Natura s.r.l., Via Mallacca Zummari 32, I-73010 Arnesano, Italy)

  • Alessio Aprile

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Via Monteroni, I-73100 Lecce, Italy)

  • Michele Benedetti

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Via Monteroni, I-73100 Lecce, Italy)

  • Francesco Paolo Fanizzi

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), University of Salento, Via Monteroni, I-73100 Lecce, Italy)

Abstract

Environmental pollution has become a pressing concern worldwide due to the accumulation of pollutants from industries and agricultural sectors in soil and water environments. Heavy metals pose severe hazards to the environment, plants, and human health. Consequently, an eco-friendly technique is needed to combat environmental pollutants. Vermibiochar, a product prepared through the combined action of earthworms and biochar, demonstrates great potential in reducing heavy metal concentrations in contaminated soil. Its large surface area and high cation exchange capacity enhance the sorption of contaminants onto the vermibiochar surface, reducing their bioavailability. This review highlights the roles played by earthworms and biochar in heavy metal detoxification and immobilization. It discusses the current methods of remediation, vermibiochar production, its effects on soil properties and plant growth, and biochar’s impact on earthworm growth and reproduction. The studies reviewed suggest that vermibiochar is a novel strategy for addressing heavy metal contamination.

Suggested Citation

  • Sami ur Rehman & Federica De Castro & Paolo Marini & Alessio Aprile & Michele Benedetti & Francesco Paolo Fanizzi, 2023. "Vermibiochar: A Novel Approach for Reducing the Environmental Impact of Heavy Metals Contamination in Agricultural Land," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9380-:d:1168181
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9380/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9380/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daleniece Higgins Jones & Xinhua Yu & Qian Guo & Xiaoli Duan & Chunrong Jia, 2022. "Racial Disparities in the Heavy Metal Contamination of Urban Soil in the Southeastern United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-12, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kailin Ren & Lide Su & Yong Zhang & Xiang He & Xuyang Cai, 2023. "Optimization and Experiment of Livestock and Poultry Manure Composting Equipment with Vented Heating," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-22, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Teriana Moore & Pamela Payne-Foster & JoAnn S. Oliver & Ellen Griffith Spears & Christopher H. Spencer & Jacqueline Maye & Rebecca S. Allen, 2022. "Community Perspectives and Environmental Justice Issues in an Unincorporated Black Township," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-10, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9380-:d:1168181. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.