Bioremediation of Emerging Contaminants from Soils

Dr. Prasann Kumar, assistant professor cum research intensive faculty in theDepartment of Agronomy, School of Agricultural (ICAR-Accredited), LovelyProfessional University, Punjab, specializes in stress physiology, plant tissue culture,physiology of plant?microbe/pathogen interaction, and biodiversity management.Dr. Kumar has completed the International Agricultural Rural DevelopmentProgramme from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States. He hasreceived a doctorate from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He also hasauthored 40 books published by national and international publishers, which finda place in national as well as various Overseas Institutions’ libraries. He hasguided 19 MSc students for their thesis. Prof. Veena Chaudhary is working as an associate professor in the Departmentof Chemistry at Meerut College, Meerut, affiliated with CCS University, Meerut.Dr. Chaudhary is deeply attached to chemistry, with a specialization in environmentalchemistry. She has to her credit more than 50 research papers, 2 bookchapters, and 20 abstracts. She received numerous awards, including a YoungScientist Award, a Fellow Scientist Award, and numerous others, for her contributionsto the environmental field for the advancement of the social, welfare, andagricultural sectors. She is a life member of several scientific societies. She alsovisited abroad several times to attend international conferences and seminars forthe purpose of gathering and sharing scientific knowledge. She is handling severalresearch projects funded by DST, UP-CST, and higher education in UttarPradesh. Eric D. van Hullebusch is a Full Professor in Biogeochemistry of Engineered Ecosystems at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, France. He holds a Ph.D. in Aquatic Chemistry and Microbiology fromUniversité de Limoges. After a Marie Curie fellowship at Wageningen University & Research, where he worked on optimizing anaerobic sludge reactorswith respect to trace metalspeciation and bioavailability, he was appointed Associate Professor in 2005 at Université Gustave Eiffel. A very prolific researcher and author, his key interests lie in the biogeochemistry of metals and metalloids in engineered systems, pollutant remediation, and circular resource recovery through biohydrometallurgical techniques. He is especially focused on sustainable strategiesfor waste treatment, soil remediation, and recovering technology-critical elementsfrom agricultural and industrial wastes. Dr. Rosa Busquets is currently working as an Associate Professor in the Schoolof Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Faculty of Health Science Social Careand Education, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road Campus, Kingston uponThames, United Kingdom. She works toward pushing the barriers of analyticalchemistry and achieving significant improvements in monitoring molecules ofspecial environmental relevance. Rosa is a specialist in chromatography-mass spectrometry andin the analysis of complex matrices. She is particularly interested in environmental monitoring andremediation. She carries out research to remove contaminants that pose a majorthreat to ecosystems due to their toxicity and high mobility and can therefore contaminatefresh water and affect our health. Nanoparticles, pesticides, plastic degradationproducts, and pharmaceuticals are among these contaminants.xxx About the editorsKumar-BECS- Dr. Arun Lal Srivastav is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Sciences at Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh, India.

• 1 Exponential population growth and global food security: challenges and alternatives2 Agricultural soil contamination due to industrial discharges: challenges for publichealth protection and food security3 Traditional approaches of agriculture soil remediation: boon or bane for global food security4 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons bioremediation mechanisms by nonligninolytic fungi: a multiscale approach5 Phenolic compounds: a significant threat to agricultural soils6 Pharmaceutical compounds: a recent threat to agricultural soils (sources, transport, and negative impacts on the crop’s quality and other adjacent ecosystems)7 Sources of inorganic nonmetallic contaminants (synthetic fertilizers, pesticides) in agricultural soil and their impacts on the adjacent ecosystems8 Sources of inorganic metallic contaminants (lead, cadmium, arsenic, etc.) in agricultural soil and their impacts on the adjacent ecosystems9 Environmental threats posed by xenobiotics10 Bioremediation of xenobiotic contamination in soil11 Transgenic plants as a source of xenobiotic remediation12 Xenobiotic stress management by microbial endophytes13 Case studies on emerging contamination of soil14 Bioremediation of metal-contaminated soil: comparison of microbial agents with plants15 Phytoremediation of metal contaminated soil using energy crops: soil health maintenance along with biofuel production16 Phytoremediation of phenolic compounds from soil17 Phytoremediation of pharmaceutical compounds in soil18 Alternative natural options of synthesized agrochemicals19 Role of enzymes in the optimization of traditional phytoremediation processes of soil20 Optimized phytoremediation process for the sustainable management radionuclides21 Role of indigenous knowledge in agricultural soil reclamation without disturbing other ecosystems22 Role of hyperaccumulators in the reduction of emerging industrial pollutants from soil23 Microbes-assisted bioaugmentation process in the reduction of emerging industrial pollutants from soil24 Application of genetically modified crops against metallic contaminations25 Crop rotation patterns and soil health management26 Application of microphytes for soil reclamation27 Utilization of genetically modified weed plants against industrial contaminants: a promising tool of phytoremediation28 Case studies on management practices for emerging contamination of soil, challenges and future scope