Sustainable C and N Management Under Metal-Contaminated Soils

Abstract

Across the world, a major challenge is deteriorating environmental health by increasing growth of industries with the unscientific management of industrial waste. Soil contamination with organic and inorganic pollutant is a major task during the production of healthy food. In the last three decades, the concentration of heavy metals in soil has increased drastically, posing a risk to the whole environment, human, as well as animal health. Soil contamination is a threat to sustainable agricultural development and food security in developing countries. Nowadays protection and preservation of the environment from further deterioration have drawn increasing research attention. In the present context, use of modern and traditional technologies aims to maintain the health of natural resources from contamination at economic feasibility. Another major concern is remediation or minimization of toxic metal entry in the food chain contamination of different ecosystems without affecting their functionality. There is a need to make land resources free from metal contamination for healthy and safe agricultural production, to increase food security, and to maintain land use pattern. Advanced remediation techniques are more focusing on in situ environment-friendly practices. Several organic and inorganic remediation technologies to treat heavy metal-contaminated soils are discussed in this chapter.