The role of soils in regulation of freshwater and coastal water quality

Abstract

Water quality regulation is an important ecosystem service function of soil. In this study, the mechanism by which soil regulates water quality was reviewed, and the effects of soil management on water quality were explored. A scientometrics analysis was also conducted to explore the research fields and hotspots of water quality regulation of soil in the past 5 years. This review found that the pollutants entering the soil can be mitigated by precipitation, adsorption and desorption, ion exchange, redox and metabolic decomposition. As an optimal substrate, soil in constructed wetlands has perfect performance in the adsorption and passivation of pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals in water, and degradation of pesticides and emerging contaminants. Mangrove wetlands play an important role in coastal zone protection and coastal water quality restoration. However, the excessive application of agricultural chemicals causes soil overload, which leads to the occurrence of agricultural non-point source pollution. Under the dual pressures of climate change and food insecurity in the future, developing environmentally friendly and economically feasible sustainable soil management measures is crucial for maintaining the water purification function of soil by relying on the accurate quantification of soil function based on big data and modelling. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.

Soil-derived Nature's Contributions to People and their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

“…Each paper in this issue [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] has presented evidence for the contribution of soils to NCP. Table 5 summarizes the potential positive, negative and context-specific contributions of soils to NCP arising from these papers.…”

“…Previous studies have examined the role of soils in contributing to ecosystem services, showing that soils have a decisive and positive contribution to many [1][2][3][4][5]. Other papers in this special issue [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] have considered each ecosystem service in turn, classified according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Nature's Contributions to People (NCP, [21,22]), thus providing the most comprehensive treatment to date of the role of soils in delivering NCP. Other studies have examined the role of soils in contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, [23][24][25][26]), arguing that soils also play a vital role in delivering the SDGs.…”

“…Like Keesstra et al [27], Smith et al [29] first considered the functions provided by the soils and mapped these to NCP, with the delivery of these NCP then mapped on to the delivery of the SDGs. We use a similar approach here, drawing on the extensive analysis presented in the other papers presented in this issue [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], to examine the role of soils in contributing, positively or negatively, to the UN SDGs.…”

The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People

“…The role of soils in the regulation of freshwater and coastal water quality is addressed by Cheng et al [20]. The regulation of water quality is one of the important ecosystem service functions of soil.…”

Evaluating Soil Loss for Identification of Land Risk Area in the Kabe Watershed of Ethiopia

“…Soil erosion has various efects on the environment, society, and economy [1,2] since it removes fertile topsoil, which reduces the productivity of the crop feld, and fnally, it is the source of food production loss [3]. Te sediment transported in waterbodies could be the cause of the decline in water quality and freshwater bodies [4,5]. Heavy metals, contaminants, and chemicals that are generated from erosion in a landscape are transported with soil particles, causing higher sediment levels which eventually lead to water eutrophication and disturbance of delicate aquatic ecosystems [6].…”