New and Emerging Water Pollutants Arising from Agriculture: Exposure, Fate, and Ecotoxicity

About this Research Topic

Background

Concerns about the release of emerging pollutants into the environment are increasing. Although a large number of studies have investigated the occurrence of a wide range of emerging pollutants across the globe, only a few studies have specifically investigated the occurrence of emerging pollutants in agricultural systems. Emerging pollutants are released into agricultural environments through direct and indirect routes. The studies on agricultural environments have detected a wide range of emerging pollutants, including new pesticides and pesticide metabolites, veterinary drugs, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, hormones, microplastics, and other transformation products of synthetic chemicals. Generally, the concentrations of such emerging pollutants in the environment are very low. Still, due to their lipid solubility and potential bio-concentration/bio-amplification, emerging pollutants can enter animals or human bodies through various exposure pathways and may cause adverse ecological and human health effects.

This Research Topic aims to discuss the fate, behavior, (bio)monitoring, ecological, and health risks associated with emerging pollutants in agricultural soils, sediments, groundwater, aquaculture effluents, and freshwater ecosystems and highlights new horizons for their toxicological mechanism. We also address the topic of innovative tools for evaluating the effects of toxicity on ecological and human health and predicting toxicological mechanisms in the ecosystem. Additionally, we consider the uptake, mode of action, and consequences of each emerging pollutant. Through interdisciplinary international exchanges, the outcomes of these activities will build up the knowledge base to raise global awareness about emerging pollutants.

This Research Topic focuses on the occurrence, fate, and effects of emerging pollutants in the agricultural system (e.g., aquatic and soil ecosystems) and aims at publishing cutting-edge research in this area. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Sources, occurrences, and environmental fate of emerging pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in agricultural systems
• Adverse effects of emerging pollutants on molecular, cellular, organismal, population, community, and ecosystem-level
• Mechanistic elucidation of detrimental effects upon exposure to various emerging contaminants and novel method development for ecotoxicological toxicological research
• Impacts of emerging pollutants on structure, the function of and services provided by agricultural ecosystems
• The ecological risk assessments of emerging pollutants

We also welcome different-scale approaches to the current state-of-the-art research on emerging pollutants and ecosystems. The Research Topic welcomes original research articles and review articles.

Keywords: Contaminants of Emerging Concern, Emerging pollutants, Occurrence, Exposure, Fate, Ecotoxicity, Health risks, Ecological and human health impacts

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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