This volume provides state-of-the-art knowledge on xenobiotics in urban ecosystems, addressing a wide range of related issues, such as xenobiotic types and chemical composition, environmental fate, remedial approaches, regulatory policies and socioeconomic impacts. The book incorporates theoretical and practical aspects pertaining to xenobiotics to assess their threat level in urban environments, while determining appropriate responses and remediation measures to curb harmful impacts and prevent future contaminations. The book will be of interest to soil scientists, ecological engineers, agriculturists, urban policymakers, students and researchers working in the field of urban agriculture and environmental sciences.

The history of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences is an impressive success story. The products of chemical and pharmaceutical industries are present eve- where in our everyday life. They help to pursue the modern way of living and they contribute to our high standard of living and safety, mobility, communication te- nologies, food, health, textiles and drinking water treatment, among many others. These products are labeled under the categories: pharmaceuticals, pesticides, det- gents, fertilizers, dyes, paints, preservatives, food additives and personal care pr- ucts, to name a few. Within these categories, groups of chemicals with similar structures can be found. However, often groups of chemicals with very different structures belong to the same category. For a long time the production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, their usage and application was connected with the heavy pollution of the environment and serious health effects. At the end of the last century, it was realised that the products of che- cal and pharmaceutical industries are presenting a new type of environmental pol- tion that may also pose a health risk to the consumer. Most chemicals are used in so-called open applications in excessive amounts e. g. for personal care, hygiene, plant protection, health and in textiles. In many cases such as scents, detergents, textile chemicals, surface disinfectants, pesticides and others it is unavoidable that these chemicals are released into the environment according to their intended use.

During the past three decades, urban groundwater has emerged as one of the worlds most pressing issues. Explosive population growth, most prevalent in cities, has placed an inordinate demand on groundwater supply, prompting concerns for its long-term sustainability at a time when the quality of available groundwater resources is being increasingly

This book describes the vast variety of xenobiotics, such as pesticides, antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, agrochemicals and other pollutants, their interactions with the soil environment, and the currently available strategies and techniques for soil decontamination and bioremediation. Topics covered include: transport mechanisms of pollutants along the Himalayas; use of earthworms in biomonitoring; metagenomic strategies for assessing contaminated sites; xenobiotics in the food chain; phyto-chemical remediation; biodegradation by fungi; and the use of enzymes and potential microbes in biotransformation. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable guide for scientists in the fields of environmental ecology, soil and food sciences, agriculture, and applied microbiology.

This book gives an interdisciplinary overview on urban ecology. Basic understanding of urban nature development and its social reception are discussed for the European Metropolitan Area of Berlin. Furthermore, we investigate specific consequences for the environment, nature and the quality of life for city dwellers due to profound changes such as climate change and the demographic and economic developments associated with the phenomena of shrinking cities. Actual problems of urban ecology should be discussed not only in terms of natural dimensions such as atmosphere, biosphere, pedosphere and hydrosphere but also in terms of social and cultural dimensions such as urban planning, residence and recreation, traffic and mobility and economic values. Our research findings focus on streets, new urban landscapes, intermediate use of brown fields and the relationships between urban nature and the well-being of city dwellers. Finally, the book provides a contribution to the international discussion on urban ecology.

Following the success of the first edition, this pioneering study of pharmaceuticals in the environment has been updated and greatly extended. It includes the status of research on pharmaceuticals in soil, with attention to terrestrial and aquatic environments as well as new substance categories such as tetracylines and chinolones and the latest results concerning contamination of the environment and risk reduction.

This book is compilation of studies related with the xenobiotics i.e. chemical or other substance that is not normally found in the ecosystems and get accumulated at higher concentration in the biological system due to rampant industrialisation and urbanisation activities. This book has tried to give information on various issues to give comprehensive and concise knowledge of the recent advancement in the field of environmental xenobiotics and how it disturbs the plants metabolism. Other key features of the book are related to xenobiotic toxicity and detoxification mechanism, biochemical tools toward its remediation processes, molecular mechanism for xenobiotics detoxification and effect on metallomics. It also focuses on recent development in the field of waste water remediation concerned with the xenobiotics involvement. This book is different in such a way that it includes all the initial information along with the new researches. It includes the description of problem along with its solution. This volume describe the effects of xenobiotics at different levels i.e. biochemical, physiological and molecular, giving the details on signaling pathways to modify the responses of xenobiotics in plant system. Thus, it gives confirming crosstalk between xenobiotic effects and signalling pathways. This book includes description about both the organic contaminants such as pesticides, solvents and petroleum products as well as inorganic xenobiotics that include heavy metals, non-metals, metalloids, and simple soluble salts. Here the plant is main objective and that have to deal with these kinds of compounds either by avoiding accumulation of these compounds or by exhibiting several enzymatic reactions for detoxification including oxidation, reduction, and conjugation reactions. Affected plants exhibit several enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant and other reactions for detoxification of ROS including oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis and conjugation reactions. The book focuses on different forms and sources of xenobiotics including organic and inorganic xenobiotics. The matter of this book will definitely increase the knowledge about the impacts of xenobiotics on plants system. There must be potentially broad readership who could find this fruitful for their study as well as for their research. As this book has balance between basic plant physiology and toxicity caused by the xenobiotics so it can be widely used in several disciplines. Overall, the book will bring deep knowledge in the field of xenobiotics toxicity in plants during recent years and it is definitely a compilation of interesting information which isn't fully covered elsewhere in the current market.

The school of thought surrounding the urban ecosystem has increasingly become in vogue among researchers worldwide. Since half of the world's population lives in cities, urban ecosystem services have become essential to human health and wellbeing. Rapid urban growth has forced sustainable urban developers to rethink important steps by updating and, to some degree, recreating the human-ecosystem service linkage. Assessing, as well as estimating the losses of ecosystem services can denote the essential effects of urbanization and increasingly indicate where cities fall short. This book contains 13 thoroughly refereed contributions published within the Special Issue “Urban Ecosystem Services”. The book addresses topics such as nature-based solutions, green space planning, green infrastructure, rain gardens, climate change, and more. The contributions highlight new findings for landscape architects, urban planners, and policymakers. Important future cities research is considered by looking at the system connectivity between the social and ecological sphere--via varying forms of urban planning, management, and governance. The book is supported by methods and models that utilize an urban sustainability and ecosystem service-centric focus by adding knowledge-base and real-world solutions into the urbanization phenomenon.

Climate Change and Agricultural Ecosystems explains the causative factors of climate change related to agriculture, soil and plants, and discusses the relevant resulting mitigation process. Agricultural ecosystems include factors from the surrounding areas where agriculture experiences direct or indirect interaction with the plants, animals, and microbes present. Changes in climatic conditions influence all the factors of agricultural ecosystems, which can potentially adversely affect their productivity. This book summarizes the different aspects of vulnerability, adaptation, and amelioration of climate change in respect to plants, crops, soil, and microbes for the sustainability of the agricultural sector and, ultimately, food security for the future. It also focuses on the utilization of information technology for the sustainability of the agricultural sector along with the capacity and adaptability of agricultural societies under climate change. Climate Change and Agricultural Ecosystems incorporates both theoretical and practical aspects, and serves as base line information for future research. This book is a valuable resource for those working in environmental sciences, soil sciences, agricultural microbiology, plant pathology, and agronomy. - Covers the role of chemicals fertilizers, environmental deposition, and xenobiotics in climate change - Discusses the impact of climate change on plants, soil, microflora, and agricultural ecosystems - Explores the mitigation of climate change by sustainable methods - Presents the role of computational modelling in climate change mitigation

This book summarizes the latest understanding of the impact of xenobiotics on the developmental and reproductive processes of aquatic animals, particularly nektonic forms, which comprise an important group of aquatic ecosystems. Aquaculture is quickly becoming the largest contributor of fish protein for human consumption. As the aquaculture business expands, farmed fish will be exposed to more environmental toxins, necessitating the use of chemical therapeutic drugs for fish. This book brings together experts on the regulation of environmental toxins and food chemicals from around the world, as well as researchers looking into the metabolism and disposal of foreign chemicals (xenobiotics) in fish species. The impact of xenobiotics on reproductive and developmental biology of all living forms has become of prime importance at the current time. As the effect of these xenobiotics on aquatic animals is an emerging area for research and development, several groups across the world are working on these aspects, targeting different groups of fishes in both marine and freshwater ecosystems. This collective work highlights several key and updated recent aspects of different types of xenobiotics entering aquatic ecosystems, impacts of these agents on reproductive physiology, developmental biology, breeding biology, hormonal imbalance, aquatic ecology, and pollution on the aquatic ecosystem. The unique aggregation of different types of stressors to aquatic animals under a single volume will be a useful reference for readers, including scientists, teachers, students, researchers and policymakers and those involved in aquaculture and environment conservation.