This book is a collection of fundamental and applied research on the plant root response to environmental clues. In particular, the continued adaptation of both fine and coarse roots to modifications due to natural and anthropogenic causes were investigated from different viewpoints. Additionally, specific root traits were investigated as an optimal indicator of responses to the environment at the whole-plant level. Aspects such as an innovative methodological approach, the root morphology, gene expression, and primary and secondary metabolite concentrations were at the center of the investigations conducted in this collection.

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According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), achieving safe and healthier foods was one of the top ten achievements of public health in the 20th century. However, considerable persisting challenges currently exist in developed nations and developing economies for further assuring the safety and security of the food supplies. According to CDC estimates, as many as 3000 American adults, as an example, and based on a recent epidemiological estimate of the World Health Organization, around 420,000 individuals around the globe, lose their lives annually due to foodborne diseases. This emphasizes the need for innovative and emerging interventions, for further prevention or mitigation of the risk of foodborne microbial pathogens during food processing and manufacturing. The current publication discusses recent advancements and progress in the elimination and decontamination of microbial pathogens during various stages of manufacturing and production. Special emphasis is placed on hurdle validation studies, investigating decontamination of non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars, various serogroups of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, public health-significant serotypes of Listeria monocytogenes, and pathogenic species of Cronobacter.

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This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This book addresses the most recent developments in soil pollution and restoration, contaminant hydrology, and ground disturbance to stimulate fruitful technical and scientific interactions between professionals.

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Agricultural diversification can occur in many forms (e.g., genetic variety, species, structural) and can be created temporally and over different spatially scales (e.g., within crop, within field, and landscape level). Crop diversification is the practice of growing more than one crop species within a farming area in the form of rotations (two or more crops on the same field in different years), multiple crops (more than one crop in the same season on the same field) or intercropping (at least two crops simultaneously on the same field).Various cropping strategies and management practices, such as diversification of cropping systems by crop rotation, conservation tillage, and the use of cover crops, have been promoted to enhance crop productivity and ecosystem services. However, the opportunities and means differ among regions and the actual effects of diversification on cropping system sustainability still need more investigation.This Special Issue covers the state-of-the-art and recent progress in different aspects related to agricultural diversification to increase the sustainability and resilience of a wide range of cropping systems (grassland, horticultural crops, fruit trees) and in a scenario of environmental challenges due to climate change: Crop production and quality; Impact of crop diversification on soil quality and biodiversity; Environmental impact and delivery of ecosystem services by crop diversification.

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This book deals with sustainable agriculture at a time of climate change. It seeks to identify a number of solutions to deal with the agricultural stresses caused by climate change. These range from the identification and cultivation of appropriate crop varieties and the adoption of climate adaptive agricultural practices. Significant sustainable agricultural innovation is required to deal with these challenges. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) may be of crucial importance for modern agriculture. They serve to make R&D in agriculture attractive, by encouraging investment in new technologies and generating tradeable assets. A number of the chapters of this book refer to the principal IPRs relevant to agricultural innovation, namely: (i) patents, which protect inventions; (ii) plant variety rights, which protect the breeding of new and distinct plant varieties; and (iii) trademarks and geographical indications, which facilitate the marketing of products by providing protection for the symbols of their manufacturing or geographic origin. The United Nations Climate Change Panel has urged the consideration of the agricultural practices of traditional communities and some of these practices particularly involving rice, banana, and brassica cultivation are explored in the book. This book is essential reading for officials of governments and international organizations concerned with sustainability, as well as scholars and students concerned with these subjects

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In the last century, innovations in agricultural technologies centered on maximizing food production to feed the growing population have contributed to significant changes in agroecosystem processes, including carbon, nutrients, and water cycling. There are growing concerns regarding soil fertility depletion, soil carbon loss, greenhouse gas emissions, irrigational water scarcity, and water pollution, affecting soil health, agricultural productivity, systems sustainability, and environmental quality. Soils provide the foundation for food production, soil water and nutrient cycling, and soil biological activities. Therefore, an improved understanding of biochemical pathways of soil organic matter and nutrient cycling, microbial community involved in regulating soil health, and soil processes associated with water flow and retention in soil profile helps design better agricultural systems and ultimately support plant growth and productivity. This book, Agroecological Approaches in Soil and Water Management, presents a collection of original research and review papers studying physical, chemical, and biological processes in soils and discusses multiple ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, nutrients and water cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and agro-environmental sustainability. We covered tillage, nutrients, irrigation, amendments, crop rotations, crop residue management practices for improving soil health, soil C and nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, soil water dynamics, and hydrological processes.

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The externalization of animals’ genetic potential is determined by a number of external factors, of which feeding plays a major role. Animal nourishment is one of the most important levers in ensuring the efficiency of animal production due to both the high share of feed costs in the total cost of products and the influence this has on the growth, reproduction, and health of animals, as well as the quality of products obtained from them. This particular field is one of the most dynamic in the field of husbandry sciences due to the continuous acquisition and use of numerous results obtained from studies on energy metabolism and nutrients, related to the composition of feed and its influence on animal products. This is also due to the great advances made in genetics with the creation of new types of animals with increasing productive potential and different food requirements. The following Special Issue is dedicated to interdisciplinary studies on animal nutrition, physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, reproduction, and breeding technologies. The articles contained herein cover a wide range of topics related to feed quality, the influence of food on production levels, the quality of production, and their influence on animal health.

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In many parts of the world, freshwater is a subject of frequent and intense large-scale disturbances. Pollution, water withdrawal, alteration of freshwater flows, road construction, aquifer mining, surface water diversion, desertification, wetland drainage, soil erosion in agriculture, deforestation, and dam building have led to some irreversible species losses and severe changes in community compositions of freshwater ecosystems. Pollution represents one of the most relevant impacts on freshwater environments, ranging from surface water bodies—such as springs, streams, rivers, lakes, and intermittent waterbodies—to groundwater and transitional habitats between surface waters and groundwaters. The origins and fates of pollutants are different and depend on various pollutants, including fertilizers with pesticides in agricultural areas, heavy metals, chlorinated organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are predominantly derived from industrial and urban settlements. Another pollutant is microplastics, which can increase in concentration in freshwater bodies and constitute emerging contaminants in freshwater systems when taken together with pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PCPs), and endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs). The broad distribution of several pollutants leads to significant changes of freshwater ecosystems, together with the extinction of the most sensitive species or the drastic lowering in abundances of others, thus altering community compositions and the ecosystem services provided by freshwater biodiversity.

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The role of biochar in improving soil fertility is increasingly being recognized and is leading to recommendations of biochar amendment of degraded soils. In addition, biochars offer a sustainable tool for managing organic wastes and to produce added-value products. The benefits of biochar use in agriculture and forestry can span enhanced plant productivity, an increase in soil C stocks, and a reduction of nutrient losses from soil and non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, biochar composition and properties and, therefore, its performance as a soil amendment are highly dependent on the feedstock and pyrolysis conditions. In addition, due to its characteristics, such as high porosity, water retention, and adsorption capacity, there are other applications for biochar that still need to be properly tested. Thus, the 16 original articles contained in this book, which were selected and evaluated for this Special Issue, provide a comprehensive overview of the biological, chemicophysical, biochemical, and environmental aspects of the application of biochar as soil amendment. Specifically, they address the applicability of biochar for nursery growth, its effects on the productivity of various food crops under contrasting conditions, biochar capacity for pesticide retention, assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, and soil carbon dynamics. I would like to thank the contributors, reviewers, and the support of the Agronomy editorial staff, whose professionalism and dedication have made this issue possible.

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Biomass can be converted to energy, biofuels, and bioproducts via thermochemical conversion processes, such as combustion, pyrolysis, and gasification. Combustion technology is most widely applied on an industrial scale. However, biomass gasification and pyrolysis processes are still in the research and development stage. The major products from these processes are syngas, bio-oil, and char (called also biochar for agronomic application). Among these products, biomass chars have received increasing attention for different applications, such as gasification, co-combustion, catalysts or adsorbents precursors, soil amendment, carbon fuel cells, and supercapacitors. This Special Issue provides an overview of biomass char production methods (pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, etc.), characterization techniques (e.g., scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, nitrogen adsorption, Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature programmed desorption and mass spectrometry), their properties, and their suitable recovery processes.

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Understanding the differences in carbon and nitrogen distribution and cycling both spatially and temporally using various approaches is essential in forest ecosystems. In addition, the influence of biotic and abiotic factors as well as natural and artificial disturbances on carbon and nitrogen cycling need to first be understood before drawing their implications to forest management practices. This Special Issue aims to understand carbon and nitrogen distribution and cycling in forest ecosystems for ecosystem-based forest management under different natural and artificial disturbances.

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Carbon-based nanomaterials have been increasingly used in sensors and biosensors design due to their advantageous intrinsic properties, which include, but are not limited to, high electrical and thermal conductivity, chemical stability, optical properties, large specific surface, biocompatibility, and easy functionalization. The most commonly applied carbonaceous nanomaterials are carbon nanotubes (single- or multi-walled nanotubes) and graphene, but promising data have been also reported for (bio)sensors based on carbon quantum dots and nanocomposites, among others. The incorporation of carbon-based nanomaterials, independent of the detection scheme and developed platform type (optical, chemical, and biological, etc.), has a major beneficial effect on the (bio)sensor sensitivity, specificity, and overall performance. As a consequence, carbon-based nanomaterials have been promoting a revolution in the field of (bio)sensors with the development of increasingly sensitive devices. This Special Issue presents original research data and review articles that focus on (experimental or theoretical) advances, challenges, and outlooks concerning the preparation, characterization, and application of carbon-based nanomaterials for (bio)sensor development.

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This book focuses on catalytic hydrogen generation from formic acid, ammonia borane, and ethanol as well as on the production of fuels from tar using formic acid as a hydrogen source. The list of discussed catalysts includes single-atom catalysts, metallic/bimetallic catalysts, and supported metal complexes. These catalysts were thoroughly characterized using different methods. Optimized catalyst compositions are proposed.

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The book presents a series of articles devoted to modeling, simulation, and optimization of processes, mainly chemical. General methods for process modeling and numerical simulation are described with flowsheeting. Population balances are addressed in detail with application to crystal production; energy saving is frequently optimized, including exergy analysis. The coupling between process simulation and computational fluid dynamics is studied for air classification and bubble columns. Pressure swing adsorption, reactive distillation, and nanofiltration are explained in general and applied to particular processes. The synthesis of carbon dots is solved by the design of experiments method. A safety study addresses the consequences of gas explosion.

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This Special Issue is designed to celebrate the founding of the open-access journal Oceans and is focused on presenting new ideas and advances at the cutting edge of ocean science. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to: ocean geosciences, physics, biogeochemistry, and ecology; ocean ecosystem services and sustainable ocean resource use; and ocean operations and engineering. The fifteen articles published in this Special Issue focus on diverse areas of oceanography, including ocean ecology and biology, ocean geosciences, ocean climate and meteorology, ocean circulation, ocean chemistry and biogeochemistry, ocean resources (e.g., fisheries, aquaculture, and mining), ocean engineering, ocean modeling and ocean governance.

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The continuous evolution of preventive and therapeutic strategies aims to enhance oral health outcomes. Novel approaches are being developed to prevent and treat prevalent oral diseases like dental caries, periodontitis, and oral cancer. Researchers are also exploring the potential of biomaterials in regenerative dentistry, such as promoting bone growth and repairing damaged oral tissues.The ongoing research and development in dental materials and biomaterials holds great promise for improving oral health outcomes. However, it is imperative to maintain a sustained focus on research to fully leverage their potential and effectively address the existing gaps in dental care.In the special issue titled "Dental Biomaterials: From Fundamental Principles to Clinical Applications," significant findings have emerged from a variety of sources, including in vitro experiments and clinical trials. These insights have deepened our understanding of oral disease biology, resulting in the development of innovative treatment approaches like targeted drug delivery systems and gene therapy. Clinical trials have also provided evidence on the effectiveness and safety of these new treatment options.Overall, these advancements in technology and treatment offer hope for enhanced management of oral diseases. Nevertheless, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of continuous research and development in order to fully unlock the potential of these innovations and achieve significant progress in improving oral health outcomes.

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Forest ecosystems are often disturbed by agents such as harvesting, fire, wind, insects and diseases, and acid deposition, with differing intensities and frequencies. Such disturbances can markedly affect the amount, form, and stability of soil organic carbon in, and the emission of greenhouse gases, including CO2, CH4, and N2O from, forest ecosystems. It is vitally important that we improve our understanding of the impact of different disturbance regimes on forest soil carbon dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions to guide our future research, forest management practices, and policy development. This Special Issue provides an important update on the disturbance effects on soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in forest ecosystems in different climate regions.

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Duckweed (Lemnaceae) represents a small aquatic monocot plant family presently composed of 36 species. These plants gained importance in recent decades for their applications in wastewater purification, as animal food or human nutrition, as well as for energy production. This Reprint presents 39 manuscripts published in the Special Issue “Duckweed: Research meets applications” of the journal Plants. We provide an overview of the present state of the art of duckweed research in taxonomy of the family, phytoremediation, accumulation of protein or starch, interaction with microorganisms, and phytomonitoring of toxic compounds. This Special Issue also invited the participants of the 6th International Conference on Duckweed Research and Applications (ICDRAs) held in Gatersleben, Germany, organised on behalf of the International Steering Committee on Duckweed Research and Applications (ISCDRAs). This Reprint is organised as follows:1. Introduction; 2. Molecular Characterization and Taxonomy; 3. Phytoremediation: Wastewater; 4. Applications: Accumulation of Protein or Starch; 5. Interaction with Microorganisms; 6. Physiology and Phytomonitoring.The manuscripts were organised by the Guest Editors Viktor Oláh (University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary), Klaus-J. Appenroth (Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany), and K. Sowjanya Sree (Central University Kerala, Periye, India).

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Several factors influence consumers’ choices of food products. While price remains the main criterion, quality, pleasure, convenience, and health are also important driving factors in food market evolution. Food enterprises are making significant efforts to manufacture products that meet consumers’ demands without compromising on safety standards. Additionally, the food industry also aims to improve the efficiency of transformation and conservation processes by minimizing energy consumption, process duration, and waste generation. However, foods are highly complex systems in which: (i) Non-linear dynamics and interactions among different temporal and spatial scales must be considered; (ii) A wide range of physical phenomena occur; (iii) Different food matrices, with different microstructures and properties are involved; and (iv) The number of quality and safety indicators (such as bacteria, total volatile basic nitrogen, color, texture, odor, and sensory characteristics) is substantial. Mathematical modeling and simulation are key elements that allow us to gain a deeper understanding of food processes and enable the use of tools such as optimization and real-time control to improve their efficiency. This Special Issue gathers research on the development of dynamic mathematical models that describe the relevant factors in food processes, and model-based tools to improve such processes. The contributions published in this Special Issue can be grouped into two categories: the evolution of safety and quality indicators in unprocessed food systems, and transformation and preservation processes.

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The papers in this SI present valuable results in the topics of soils, sediments, and water contamination according to the consideration of ecological and health risk. They also point out open questions and possible avenues for future research. Biochar application can benefit both soil conservation and contamination, but further research should be conducted to investigate whether these positive effects can be extended to the field scale. Similar to biochar, scale-up design will be helpful for thin-layer capping in in situ sediments using mixed active amendments. Both physiochemical analysis and bioassays mutually supported the evaluation results of river water quality. However, we need better approaches and policies for management to prevent further contamination from the discharge of untreated industrial and domestic waste into this aquatic ecosystem. The use of microorganisms to eliminate antibiotics is a promising strategy, but future work should verify the biodegradation ability of antibiotic-degrading bacteria in wastewater treatment plants.

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Predation and scavenging are pervasive ecological interactions in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The ecology, evolution and conservation of predators and scavengers have received wide scientific attention and public awareness. However, the close connection that exists between predation and scavenging has not been emphasized until very recently. The recognition that carnivorous animals may obtain meat by either hunting prey or scavenging their carcasses has profound implications from individual behavior to population, community and ecosystem levels. However, many relevant questions still remain unexplored. This book deals with some of these questions, with the final aim to definitively dismiss the traditional view that predation and scavenging are disconnected ecological processes. This compendium of science may help to inspire ecologists, evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, epidemiologists, forensic scientists, anatomists, and, of course, conservation biologists in their stimulating and promising endeavor of achieving a more comprehensive understanding of carnivory in a rapidly changing world.

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The use of synthetic chemical products, both organic and inorganic, has been important since the mid-20th century. The effects of these compounds and elements on organisms, their behavior in different environments such as aquatic systems, and the description of new disruptive technologies that mitigate their impacts are described in this work. This Special Issue demonstrates the fate of pollutants in aquatic environments, such as rivers and seas, and potential mitigation technologies. It contributes to expanding knowledge of the adverse effects of pollutants that reach aquatic environments, their fate once they enter the food chain, and the effectiveness of mitigating, including through circular economy approaches.

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This Special Issue presents an extract from the reality of smart agriculture, where the combination of modern technologies, innovative solutions, and sustainable approaches to food production classifies this part of science as highly interdisciplinary, multifaceted, and technologically advanced. The need to increase productivity, optimize natural resources, and minimize environmental impact requires new approaches. In this context, smart agriculture is emerging as a solution that combines technology, data, and science to achieve sustainable, efficient, and innovative food production. This Special Issue introduces the field of smart farming, which encompasses a range of advanced technologies. The use of these tools allows for the monitoring and optimization of crop conditions, precise fertilization, the minimization of water and energy usage, and the improvement of crop quality and quantity. In addition, plant monitoring systems are described, which, by means of sensors and data analysis, provide farmers with valuable information about plant health, soil moisture, temperature, and other factors affecting crop growth. A significant part of this monograph deals with the automation of agricultural processes, where robots and machines undertake tasks with high precision and accuracy, contributing to the farmer’s efficiency. This Special Issue aims not only to provide an understanding of smart agriculture but to also inspire the reader to think about the future of agriculture and the ways in which modern food production methods can be improved.

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From the beginning of this century, non-Saccharomyces yeasts have taken increased relevance in wine processing. Several biotechnological companies now produce non-Saccharomyces yeasts at an industrial level to improve aroma or flavor, stabilize wine, produce biological acidification, or conversely metabolize malic acid. Species like Torulaspora delbrueckii, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Kloeckera apiculata, Lachancea thermotolerans, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and several others are common due to the technological applications they have in sensory quality but also in wine ageing and stabilization. Moreover, spoilage non-Saccharomyces yeasts like Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Saccharomycodes ludwigii, and Zygosacharomyces bailii are becoming important because of the alterations they are able to produce in high-quality wines. New strategies to control these defective yeasts have been developed to control them without affecting sensory quality. The knowledge of the physiology, ecology, biochemistry, and metabolomics of these yeasts can help to better use them in controlling traditional problems such as low fermentative power, excessive volatile acidity, low implantation under enological conditions, and sensibility to antimicrobial compounds like sulfites traditionally used in wine processing. This Special Issue intends to compile current research and revised information on non-Saccharomyces yeasts with enological applications to facilitate the use and the understanding of this biotechnological tool. In 1 year this SI has globally more than 15kdownloads and produced more than 30 citations.

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Terrestrial plants are sessile organisms that, differently from animals, can not move in searching of the nutrients and water they need. Instead, they have to change continuously their physiology and morphology to adapt to the environmental changes. When plants suffer from a nutrient deficiency, they develop physiological and morphological responses (mainly in their roots) aimed to facilitate the acquisition and mobilization of such a nutrient. Physiological responses include some ones like acidification of the rizhosphere and release of chelating agents into the medium; and morphological responses include others, like changes in root architecture and development of root hairs. The regulation of these responses is not totally known but in the last years different plant hormones and signaling substances, such as auxin, ethylene, cytokinins and nitric oxide, have been involved in their control. Besides hormones, oxidative stress has also been related with most of the nutrient deficiencies. The relationship of ethylene with the regulation of responses to nutrient deficiencies came from the nineties, when some works presented data suggesting its involvement in the regulation of responses to Fe and P deficiency. In the last years, the role of ethylene has been extended to many other nutrient deficiencies, such as K deficiency, Mg deficiency, S deficiency, N deficiency, and others. In most of the cases, it has been found that ethylene production, as well as the expression of ethylene synthesis genes, increases under these nutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, it has also been found that ethylene controls the expression of genes related to responses to different deficiencies. The involvement of ethylene in so many deficiencies suggests that it should act in conjunction with other signals that would confer nutrient-specificity to the distinct nutrient responses. These other signals could be plant hormones (auxin, cytokinins, etc) as well as other substances (nitric oxide, microRNAs, peptides, glutathione, etc), either originated in the roots or coming from the shoots through the phloem. The role of ethylene in the mineral nutrition of plants is even more complex that the one related to its role in the responses to nutrient deficiencies. Ethylene has also been implicated in the N2 fixation of legume plants; in salt tolerance responses; and in responses to heavy metals, such as Cd toxicity. All these processes are related to ion uptake and, consequently, are related to plant mineral nutrition. We consider a good opportunity to review all this information in a coordinated way. This Research Topic will provide an overview about the role of the plant hormone ethylene on the regulation of physiological and morphological responses to different nutrient deficiencies. In addition, it will cover other aspects of ethylene related to plant nutrition such as its role on salinity, N2 fixation and tolerance to heavy metals.

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