Water scarcity, its necessity in food production, and environmental protection in the world have forced human beings to seek new water sources. Nowadays, application of unconventional water resources (wastewater) has been proposed in countries facing the crisis of water resources shortage; however, a few studies have dealt with this issue. The present study has evaluated the changes in the elements of the soil, irrigated with wastewater. For so doing, an experiment has been conducted on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Soil samples have been collected from the studied regions at two depths of 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm and the studied parameters have included sodium, total calcium, magnesium, some acidity, and electrical conductivity of the soil. Three regions of study (namely no irrigation, irrigation with treated wastewater, and irrigation with river waters) have been taken into consideration. Results have shown increased calcium, magnesium, and pH of the effluent from Zabol Wastewater Treatment Plant compared to the control; however, electrical conductivity and chloride have decreased in wastewater-irrigated soil. The electrical conductivity in the surface layer of wastewater samples, treated with an amount of 2.25 (ds/m), has had the most significant difference to the control and other treatments. It can be concluded that wastewater increases some soil properties, contributing to its restoration.

Removal of multi-ionic contaminants from water resources has been a major challenge faced during the treatment of water for drinking and industrial applications. In the present study, varying composition of magnesium doped hydroxyapatite (Mg-HAp) and zeolite nanocomposite embedded porous polymeric beads were synthesized using solvent displacement method and its sorption efficiency towards multi-ion contaminant (such as Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Tl, Th, U, V and Zn) was investigated in aqueous solution and spiked groundwater. The prepared beads were characterized using suitable techniques like high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The surface area and pore radius of the beads varied from 6.996 to 66.469 m²/g and 1.698–3.960 nm respectively according to the composition of the bead. The control bead without nanocomposite showed maximum surface area. Multi-ion adsorptions onto beads were confirmed using an inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) and X-ray photoelectron spectrophotometer (XPS). The sorption efficiency was high at pH 5 owing to its anionic surface charge leading to an increase in affinity towards the cations. For validating field application, selected high performance beads were tested in multi-ion spiked groundwater. The results indicated that the Mg-HAp nanocomposite bead dominate all the other bead compositions with more than 90% removal efficiency for most of the multi-ion contaminants. The feasible adsorption mechanism has been discussed. This adsorption study revealed that the Mg-HAp nanocomposite bead is a promising material that is cost-effective, non-toxic, biodegradable, eco-friendly and highly efficient towards the removal of multi-ionic contaminants from groundwater.

Mosses are frequently used to monitor atmospheric metal contamination but few studies on metal adsorption under controlled conditions are available. Here, the accumulation of the heavy metals copper and zinc was studied in the acrocarp moss Atrichum undulatum. An in vitro culture of A. undulatum was established and the same line, size and equally old remets were exposed to six different treatments representing various metal exposure times and washing scenarios as rain simulation. The metal treatments were done in copper and zinc salts (Cu-acetate, CuSO4, ZnSO4 and ZnCl2, respectively). Energy-Dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) was employed to detect bound heavy metals on the moss plantlets. Element distribution in stems and leaves was measured separately. The aqueous solution of metal salts facilitated an adsorption of both elements in the moss tissue as compared to solid medium. Furthermore, A. undulatum can tolerate pollution of zinc and copper in a distinctive extent; our data point towards a higher zinc tolerance whereas copper is rather harmful. However, semi-quantitatively, less zinc was detected within the moss tissue compared to copper. Interestingly, a strong positive correlation between the accumulation of copper/zinc and iron, and a strong negative correlation between copper/zinc and magnesium, respectively, was documented.

The principal aim of this study was to understand the enrichment patterns of elements in water from typical coal mine and irrigation areas. For this study, samples of surface water, shallow water, and deep water were collected from Handan, Jining, and Heze cities and their surrounding areas in the central North China Plain. The results showed that the hydrochemical characteristics were dominated by Ca–Mg–Cl and Ca–HCO₃. Elements in the studied surface water, including strontium, iron and boron, were anomalously enriched at levels more than 654, 294 and 134 times their global river water averages, respectively. The concentrations of elements in the studied area were influenced by both natural processes and anthropogenic sources, but the dominant origins of the anomalous enriched elements were bedrock weathering and soil leaching. The deep well water quality in the Handan coal mining area was good, while the poor-quality water samples in the study area were mainly distributed in the alluvial plain, which is characterized by Neogene-Quaternary sediments and aquifers. The measured hazard quotient and hazard index values indicate that the arsenic and nickel in the studied samples could pose a noncarcinogenic risk to the health of local residents, especially children. The leading source of the high arsenic levels is influenced by natural process. Monitoring plans for arsenic, iron, manganese, nitrate and other potentially harmful elements in surface water and groundwater and effective health education on pollution by these elements are essential.

Nightjars are considered human-tolerant species due to the population densities reached in strongly managed landscapes. However, no studies have been done evaluating metal-related effects on physiology, condition or fitness in any nightjar species. The main aim of this study was to evaluate how metal exposure affects physiology and condition in red-necked nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) populations inhabiting three different environments in southeastern Spain: agricultural-urban area (n = 15 individuals), mining area (n = 17) and control area (n = 16).Increased plasma mineral levels (magnesium and calcium) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were observed in breeding females, and ALP was significantly higher in young birds due to bone growth and development. In the mining-impacted environment, nightjars showed decreased retinol (17.3 and 23.6 μM in the mining area and control area), uric acid (28.8 and 48.6 mg/dl in the mining area and control area) and albumin (16.2 and 19.6 g/l in the mining area and control area), probably impaired by a combination of toxic metal exposure and low prey quantity/quality in that area. Moreover, they showed increased plasma tocopherol levels (53.4 and 38.6 μM in the mining area and control area) which may be a response to cope with metal-induced oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Blood concentrations of toxic metals (As, Pb, Cd and Hg) were negatively associated with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, ALP, total proteins and body condition index. This could lead to metal-related disorders in mineral metabolism and ALP activity that may potentially increase the risk of skeletal pathologies and consequent risk of fractures in the long term, compromising the survival of individuals. Further studies need to be carried out to evaluate potential metal-related effects on the antioxidant status and bone mineralization of nightjars inhabiting mining environments.

Rice is a main source of dietary cadmium (Cd), thus, how to reduce the Cd concentration in brown rice has received extensive attention worldwide. In three acidic paddy soils slightly to moderately contaminated with Cd, a series of field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of different proportions of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (N-P-K) fertilizer (urea, calcium magnesium phosphate, and potassium carbonate, respectively) alone or coupled with a topdressing of manganese (Mn) fertilizer at the tillering stage on reducing Cd bioavailability in soil and uptake in rice. The rational application of N-P-K fertilizer not only provided the basic nutrients to promote the normal growth of rice but also increased soil pH and thereby reduced the Cd bioavailability in soil. The Mg(NO₃)₂-extracted Cd concentrations in the three soils were reduced by 26.46–56.53%, while TCLP-extracted Cd were reduced by 19.87–45.41%, with little influence on soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and organic matter (OM). The application of Mn fertilizer at the tillering stage increased Mn and Cd sequestration in the iron plaque. The Mn content in iron plaque increased by 15.71–58.67% and a significant positive correlation between Cd and Mn was observed at the three sites. Collectively, this combined method of fertilization significantly reduced Cd accumulation in rice tissues, the Cd concentrations in roots of treated plants decreased by 11.18–37.78%, whereas the concentrations in straw decreased by 13.16–41.03%. Particularly to brown rice, in which accumulation decreased by 25.19–44.70%, 37.35–47.84%, and 38.00–60.88% in three typical paddy fields, but no significant effect was observed for the Cd translocation factors (TF) among rice tissues. Thus, the basal application of combined urea and alkaline inorganic fertilizers followed by topdressing of Mn fertilizer may be a promising and cost-effective tactics for the remediation of Cd-contaminated paddy soils.