recursos naturais

Soil degradation has significant consequences for global food security and ecosystem resilience. It manifests in various forms, including erosion, salinization, acidification, compaction, nutrient depletion, and contamination, all of which result from alterations in soil properties or characteristics. Monitoring degradation processes and evaluating the effects of land management practices are fundamental for stopping, preventing, and mitigating soil degradation, thereby promoting soil health worldwide.

Efficient management of soil micronutrients is crucial for the yield and sustainability of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.), especially in tropical regions. However, specific availability classes for copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn), extracted by Mehlich-1, had not yet been established for the crop in Brazil. This study presents, for the first time, the establishment of these classes, considering two soil layers (0–10 cm and 0–20 cm) in cacao-cultivated areas of southeastern Bahia, Brazil.

Landfill leachate is a complex, nutrient-rich waste stream with high potential for resource recovery through chemical precipitation. This study assessed the environmental safety and agronomic performance of struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) and novel struvite–carnallite (KMgCl3·6H2O) mineral association, both being recovered from landfill leachate.

To evaluate vegetation-associated mercury (Hg) loading in tropical regions affected by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), we quantified total mercury (HgT) in canopy leaves and leaf litter of Licania tomentosa across an ASGM-impacted urban center, Peixoto de Azevedo (PEI), and two lower-exposure reference sites: Nova Santa Helena (ASH) and a native forest fragment (ANM).