Instant Insights: Soil Contaminants

Dr Asher Bar-Tal is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO, the Volcani Center) of Israel. In 1987 he earned Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 2011 to 2013 he served as the Chairman of the Department of Soil Chemistry, Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, The Volcani Center, ARO. Dr Bar-Tal currently serves as the president of the Israeli Society of Soil Science. His research interests focus on soil chemistry, plant nutrition and fertilization of crops.

• Chapter 1 – Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminants in agricultural soils: occurrence and remediation: Teklit Gebregiorgis Ambaye, University of Brescia, Italy/Technical University of Denmark, Denmark; and Mentore Vaccari, University of Brescia, Italy; 1 Introduction2 Characteristics, sources, transport and impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons3 Techniques for remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons4 Emerging remediation technologies5 Monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons6 Implementing sustainable remediation technologies: trends and challenges7 Future trends8 Conclusion9 References Chapter taken from: Naidu, R. (ed.), Contaminants in agricultural soils: Challenges and solutions, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2025, (ISBN 978 1 80146 878 7)Chapter 2 – Antibiotic residues as contaminants in agricultural soils: Nikola Rakonjac, Wageningen University, The Netherlands1; Joost Lahr, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands; Sören Thiele-Bruhn, Trier University, Germany; Bjorn J. A. Berendsen, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands; Carlos A. Faúndez Urbina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile; and Coen J. Ritsema, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; 1 Introduction2 Antibiotic pathways to agricultural soils3 Fate of (veterinary) antibiotics in the soil4 Modeling approaches5 Controlled laboratory studies6 Dutch case study7 Mixed contaminations with antibiotics in excreta andsoil8 Conclusion and future trends9 Acknowledgments10 Where to look for further information11 References Chapter taken from: Naidu, R. (ed.), Contaminants in agricultural soils: Challenges and solutions, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2025, (ISBN 978 1 80146 878 7)Chapter 3 – Wastewater as a contamination risk for agricultural soils: Guy J. Levy, Asher Bar-Tal, Eddie Cytryn, and Mikhail Borisover, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Institute, Israel; 1 Introduction2 Wastewater sources, composition, treatment systems and methods3 Inorganic contaminants in wastewater4 Contamination by the organic fraction in wastewater5 Microbial contaminants in wastewater irrigated soils6 Management solutions to mitigate hazards involved in irrigation with wastewater7 Conclusion8 References Chapter taken from: Naidu, R. (ed.), Contaminants in agricultural soils: Challenges and solutions, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2025, (ISBN 978 1 80146 878 7)Chapter 4 – The impact of heavy metal contamination on soil health: Santanu Bakshi and Chumki Banik, Iowa State University, USA; and Zhenli He, University of Florida, USA; 1 Introduction2 Current levels of soil contamination by heavy metals3 Natural and anthropogenic sources of heavy metals4 Chemical transformation of heavy metals in soils5 Bioavailability of heavy metals in soils6 Effects of heavy metals on soil health: soil chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology7 Effects of heavy metals on plant health and crop production8 Indicators of soil contamination9 Remediation of contaminated soil10 Conclusions and future trends11 References Chapter taken from: Reicosky, D. (ed.), Managing soil health for sustainable agriculture – Volume 2: Monitoring and management, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2018, (ISBN 978 1 78676 192 7)