Marios Drosos

• Dr
• Professor (Associate) at University of Basilicata

Natural organic matter (NOM) is ubiquitous in aquatic environment, which plays a predominant role inthe sorption of pharmaceuticals onto the TiO2nanoparticles. It is a matter of concern whether NOM couldact as a surface sensitizer of TiO2or not. In this context, the role of NOM is investigated for the photo-catalytic degradation of carbamazepine (C...

A lignite humic acid (HA) was separated from inorganic and non-HA impurities (i.e., aluminosilicates, metals) and fractionated by a combination of dialysis and XAD-8 resin. Fractionation revealed a more homogeneous structure of lignite HA. New and more specific structural information on the main lignite HA fraction is obtained by solid-state nuclea...

A Humeomics sequential chemical fractionation coupled to advanced analytical identification was applied directly to soil for the first time. Humeomics extracted ~ 235% more soil organic carbon (SOC) than by the total alkaline extraction traditionally employed to solubilise soil humic molecules (soil Humeome). Seven fractions of either hydro- or org...

Soil organic matter (SOM) or humus is essential for the agricultural and environmental functionality of soils. Humus comprises small-size heterogeneous organic molecules arranged in complex meta-stable suprastructures, whose composition can be greatly affected by land management. Here, we report the molecular dynamics of the fractions extracted fro...

The novel awareness of humic matter as supramolecular associations of relatively small heterogeneous molecules has gained a consensus following the progressively larger number of experimental evidence present in the literature. This new understanding has implied that the humic molecules may be separated from each other by a sequential fractionation...

Preventing fouling is crucial for maintaining ship performance, as it reduces speed, increases fuel consumption, raises greenhouse gas emissions, and spreads inva-sive species. Irgarol 1051, an antifouling agent (2, methythiol-4, tert-butylamino, 6-cyclopropylamino, s-triazine), is a toxic compound that impacts various marine species. It inhibits a...

Peanut yield and quality are often threatened by soil degradation under continuous cropping. Biochar has been known to improve the soil microbial community and plant resistance. However, studies on its functions to reduce soil degradation losses and improve the peanut yield are limited. A field peanut experiment was conducted in an Alfisol soil and...

The concept of metal bioavailability in soils is increasingly becoming the key to addressing potential risks. Yet, space–time variations of heavy metal concentrations in salt-affected soils is still vague. The current work, therefore, is the first attempt to address spatial and seasonal analyses of heavy metals in a Mediterranean arid agroecosystem...

Flash floods are highly destructive natural disasters, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions like Egypt, where data scarcity poses significant challenges for analysis. This study focuses on the Wadi Al-Barud basin in Egypt’s Central Eastern Desert (CED), where a severe flash flood occurred on 26–27 October 2016. This flash flood event, charact...

The relationships between soil aggregates, aggregate-associated carbon (C), and soil compaction indices in pomegranate orchards of varying ages (0–30 years) in Assiut, Egypt, were investigated. Soil bulk density (Bd) and organic carbon (OC) content increased with orchard age in both the surface (0.00–0.20 m) and subsurface (0.20–0.40 m) layers 0.20...

The soil health notion has been recently expanded to relate soil functions not only to soil fertility for a sustainable primary productivity, but also to the control of water cycling and of the soil carbon storage. Soil humus is fundamental to achieve the objectives of soil health, and it is therefore deemed necessary to enlarge the knowledge of it...

Preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC) of forestlands has been challenged with land degradation and climate warming. However, the impact of lithology on SOC preservation in karst forestlands has been poorly addressed. Topsoil core samples of forestlands were collected from karst terrains in central Guizhou, Southwest China, over sandstone (SS),...

Organic fertilizers as partial substitutes for chemical fertilizers improve soil nitrogen (N) retention capacity. However, the relative importance of biotic and abiotic N immobilization at different levels of organic N substitution and the subsequent effects on N utilization in paddy soils are not well elucidated. To address these, a combination of...

This study examines the potential of natural biostimulants to mitigate environmental stress and enhance growth, yield, and quality in eggplant (Solanum melongena L., cv. Black Beauty) grown in loamy sand soil. Eggplants were treated with foliar applications of ascorbic acid (AA) at 300 mg/L, chitosan (Ch) at 200 mg/L, and moringa oil (MO) at 1000 m...

Biochar derived from poultry manure increases nutrient availability and promotes plant growth. This study investigated the effect of biochar with mycorrhizal and/or plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on soil fertility, chemical properties, oil, and seed yield of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.) plants. A split-plot design with three replicates was...

Maize and wheat are the main cereals grown in Egypt. However, the country relies on grain imports to meet its local demands. In order to improve their production, appropriate fertilization programs are needed. The present study investigates the effects of amending a clayey soil of an arid region with rice straw biochar and NPK mineral fertilizers,...

ANOTECHNOLOGY is a growing field that explores the interactions between engineered nanoparticles and ecosystems, with a focus on soil health and biodiversity. Engineered nanoparticles are intentionally designed at the nanoscale and offer unique properties and diverse applications, making them increasingly prevalent in consumer products and industri...

The organic and inorganic composition of pyrolytic liquids derived from biomass pyrolysis and their effects on plant growth with foliar fertilization are insufficiently understood. Particularly, whether there is a link between the composition and effect on plant growth and their property of feedstock and of pyrolysis conditions remains unknown. In...

Eutrophication is an ongoing environmental problem for the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), USA. Over the last 20 years, the region has seen an increase in harmful algal blooms (HABs) of toxic cyanobacteria. The Maumee River is discharging at the WLEB and it is contributing to the HABs in part due to nutrient pollution and sediment erosion from inte...

The study carried out in Matera, Italy, used multi-criteria decision-making techniques and geographic information systems to identify optimal area management for sustainable grape production. Terrain parameters such as temperature, pH, humidity, soil texture, slope, altitude, nutrients and precipitation were considered. ArcGIS maps were created, an...

Background Humic acid affects plant growth. Its source and structure may play a central role to its functionality. The relationship between humic acid and plant bioactivity is still unclear. This study investigated the biostimulation effects of two natural humic acids derived from soil (SHA) and lignite (LHA) on Lepidium sativum in comparison to a...

This study focused on assessing surface water quality in the northwest part of the Egyp-tian Nile Delta (El-Menoufia Governorate) and evaluated water suitability for irrigation purposes using the Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI), Permeability Index (PI), Wilcox, United State Sa-linity (USSL) diagram, and Piper trilinear diagrams categories, ta...

Compost is commonly utilized to improve properties of infertile sandy soils, despite its high biodegradability which may increase greenhouse gases emissions. It is possible to combine compost with biochar, which degrades at a slower rate, forming a “co-composted biochar” product. This mixture could enhance plant growth parameters beyond those attai...

Invited Speaker in the 2nd International Conference of Waste Recycling, Reuse and Reduction of Pollution and Carbon Emissions, hosted by Zhejiang University of Science & Technology, Hangzhou, China, 26-29 June 2024, and Chairman on 28 June 2024.

The new understanding of humic matter as supramolecular associations of relatively small heterogeneous molecules has gained a consensus following the progressively larger number of experimental evidence. This novel awareness has implied that humic molecules may be separated from each other by fractionation techniques and be analytically identified,...

Comprehension of the long-term effects of irrigation on basic soil characteristics and quality is essential for sustainable land management and agricultural production, particularly in arid regions where water availability is limited. This study aimed to investigate long-term irrigation effects on soil quality, soil organic carbon (SOC), and nitrog...

Estimating soil erodible fraction based on basic soil properties in arid lands is a valuable research topic in the field of soil science and land management. The Proximal Sensing (PS) technique offers a non-destructive and efficient method to assess wind erosion potential in arid regions. By using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) and Support...

Aqueous solutions of humic acid (HA) derivatized by a catalyzed O-alkylation reaction with methyl, pentyl, and benzyl groups at 40, 60, and 80% of total HA acidity were used to wash off polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from two contaminated soils. The enhanced surfactant properties enabled the alkylated HA to remove phenanthrene, anthracene,...

Digital Precision Agriculture (DPA) is a comprehensive approach to agronomic management that utilizes advanced technologies, such as sensor data analysis and automation, to optimize crop productivity, enhance farm income, and minimize environmental impacts. DPA encompasses various agricultural domains, including pest control, pest management, ferti...

To investigate the stabilization mechanism of microbial necromass carbon (C) in rice paddy soil, the accumulation of microbial necromass and its contribution to SOC in bulk soil and in various fractions were addressed under a 40-year fertilization trial. The fertilization regimes included no fertilizer (Control), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium...

In the last decades, the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), USA, has been experiencing harmful algae bloom (HABs) events attributed to the large export of phosphate (PO4-3) and nitrate (NO3-) loads into waterways from farmland. There is current concern about exacerbating the HABs at the WLEB by discarding dredged materials (DM) in open lake waters. Th...

Soil organic matter (SOM) is essential in maintaining soil structure, nutrient content, water retention, and biodiversity. It also represents an important C pool that, if efficiently stabilized, may play a role in the mitigation of global climate changes. However, knowledge is still limited on the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) molecular com...

Humic Substances (HS), can be multifunctional, since besides their application in agriculture to increase soil fertility, they can be also used in the soil remediation from either heavy metals, or from persistent organic contaminants. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are major organic contaminants of poll...

One third of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). Specifically, green organic wastes are the main urban and agricultural wastes. One possibility would be to recycle green wastes through the production of compost whose humified components are beneficial to...

[Objectives] The paper aimed to study the effects of pyrolysis temperature and feedstocks on the chemical properties and functional groups of biochar, and provide scientific basis for optimizing the chemical properties of biochar. [Methods] Wheat straw biochar (WB350, WB450 and WB550), rice straw biochar (RB350, RB450, RB550) and corn straw biochar...

According to the Greek Ministry of Environment, there are 2,000 contaminated sites in Greece. The agricultural production in these sites should be evaluated to provide an assessment and recommendations on the necessary actions required for crop sustainability. This study investigated the effects of heavy metals on White clover (Trifolium repens L.)...

Highlights Litter quality change does not affect SOM decomposition under elevated CO2 and warming. The legacy effect of elevated CO2 and warming on soil properties controls SOM decomposition. Elevated CO2 may promote SOC sequestration by suppressing SOM decomposition. Abstract Plant litter quality is one of the key factors that control soil organi...

An O-alkylation reaction catalyzed by tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) as a phase-transfer agent was applied to a humic acid (HA) to modify its hydrophobic properties. The carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups of HA acted as nucleophiles in substitution reactions (Sn2) with methyl iodide, pentyl bromide and benzyl bromide added in amounts equi...

The role of biochar–microbe interaction in plant rhizosphere mediating soil-borne disease suppression has been poorly understood for plant health in field conditions. Chinese ginseng ( Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is widely cultivated in Alfisols across Northeast China, being often stressed severely by pathogenic diseases. In this study, the topsoil...

DOM content and composition of biochar are varied with from different raw materials. In this study， seven feedstocks including rice straw （RS）， wheat straw（WS）， soybean straw（SS）， rape straw（YS）， peanut husk（PH）， pine wood（PW） and bamboo powder（BS） were selected to prepare biochar at 450 ℃ by calcination. The spectral characteristics and fluorescen...

Introduction In modern societies, the disposal of ever more increasing biowaste is a serious threat [1]. Furthermore, the exploitation of soils that are unsuitable for cultivation (poor in nutrients due to intensive cultivation or polluted with organometallic pollutants) is an ongoing challenge [2]. One green and sustainable solution seems to be th...

Introduction: Heavy metal binding to soil organic matter (1) is leading to soil contamination and plant bioaccumulation (2). Reducing the bioavailability of soil metals by adding amendments to the soil could be suitable for mitigating heavy metal uptake by plants (3-4). For example the addition of Zeolite at 1% dose in metal polluted soil was the m...

Purpose In this study it is investigated whether typical pollution sources cause differences of heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) pollution in the soil-leafy vegetable systems. Materials and methods Soil and leafy vegetable samples were collected in the fields contaminated by industrial operation sources (IOS) and organic fertilizer sources (OFS),...

The production of ginseng, an important Chinese medicine crop, has been increasingly challenged by soil degradation and pathogenic disease under continuous cropping in Northeast China. In a field experiment, an Alfisol garden continuously cropped with Chinese ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) was treated with soil amendment at 20 t ha−1 with maiz...

Microbial communities of soil aggregate-size fractions were explored with molecular and networking assays for topsoil samples from a clayey rice paddy under long-term fertilization treatments. The treatments included no fertilizer (NF) as control, chemical fertilizer only (CF), chemical fertilizer with swine manure (CFM), and chemical fertilizer wi...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in croplands was well known through physical protection of particulae organic carbon (POC) in macroaggregates, particularly with crop residue amendment. How different forms of crop residue could affect development of macroaggregates and their micro-pore system remained unclear. In a field experiment, a rice p...

Cultivation practices alter the molecular status of the soil Humeome, meant as the ensemble of all heterogeneous humic molecules, whose changes need to be understood and monitored in order to maintain the sustainability of agricultural soils. We applied the Humeomics sequential chemical fractionation, coupled to characterization of separated fracti...

Co-pyrolysis of straw and Ca(OH)2 is a feasible modification method to improve the adsorption capacity of biochar for Cd. However, few studies have quantitatively analyzed the contribution of different adsorption mechanisms of alkali-modified biochar. In this study, the alkali-modified (Ca) biochar were prepared by co-pyrolyzing lime (Ca(OH)2) and...

Fast accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) following forest restoration shifted from cropland has been widely reported, but how the pools and molecular composition changed across soil aggregate fractions remains unclear. In this study, undisturbed topsoil (0–10 cm) samples were collected across a decadal chronosequence of forest stands (RL10, R...

The research objective of the study is the estimation of a novel low-cost composite material f-MB (Fe-modified bentonite) as a P and N adsorbent from wastewaters. Τhe present study aimed at examining the phosphate and ammonium removal efficiency from different types of wastewater using f-MB, by conducting bench-scale batch experiments to investigat...

Improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) in crop plants is important to reduce the negative impact of excessive N on the environment. While biochar‐blended fertilizer had been increasingly tested in crop production, the fate of fertilized N in soil and plant had not been elucidated in field conditions. In this study, a novel biochar‐blended urea...

Recent advances in humus chemistry indicated that the traditional macropolymeric view of humic matter is to be substituted with that of non-covalently linked supramolecular association of relatively small heterogeneous molecules of biological and plant origin, which are stabilized in soil by metal bridges, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interaction...

Biochar amendment has been proposed as a promising means to increase carbon (C) sequestration and simultaneously benefit plant productivity. However, quantifying the assimilation and dynamics of photosynthetic C in plant–soil systems under biochar addition remains elusive. This study established two experimental factors involving biochar addition a...

Humeomics is a sequential chemical fractionation that uses in the order organic solvent extraction, transesterification with boron trifluoride in methanol, methanolic alkaline hydrolysis, cleavage of ether and glycosidic bonds with HI, and final alkaline extraction, The Humeomic procedure was applied for the first time directly on paddy soil after...

Although amending biochar into agricultural soils has been regarded as an effective measure to improve crop productivity, it remains unclear why biochar increases crop yield. The objective of this study was to compare the relative contribution of different biochar components in crop growth promotion. Three biochar components were separated: (i) wat...

To understand how climate change impacts soil fertility and ecosystem functioning, it is necessary to explore how different pools of soil organic matter (SOM) at aggregate scale are functionally affected in their molecular composition. Here, we collected rhizospheric soil at rice harvest from a paddy field in which a simulated climate change experi...

This chapter evaluated a spectrum of chemical restoration approaches of eutrophic water systems, highlighting the key role of internal nutrient loads to guide remediation methods that control eutrophication. The usage of P- and joint P-/N-inactivation agents have been considered as feasible restoration tools through capacity and application methods...

In a world with high demand in P for the maintenance of soil fertility and crop productivity, this chapter introduced the types and sources of P fertilizers in soil. Specifically chemical fertilizers were discussed, with phosphate rock being the primary source of phosphate, versus organic phosphate fertilizers, such as P humates and organominerals....

As one of the most important nutrients for plant growth, phosphorus was often poorly available in soil. While biochar addition induced improvement of soil structure, nutrient and water retention as well as microbial activity had been well known, and the effect of biochar soil amendment (BSA) on soil phosphorus availability and plant P uptake had be...

While biochar enhanced carbon sequestration and stability of soil organic matter (SOM), changes in organic molecular composition in biochar-amended soils had been poorly addressed. In this study, molecular composition changes of a paddy topsoil 2 years following amendments at 10 t ha⁻¹ OC equivalent with untreated (CS), manured (CM) and charred (CB...

Oyster shells (OSs) were pyrolyzed at 300 °C, 600 °C, and 900 °C to produce oyster shell biochars (OSB300, OSB600, and OSB900, respectively). The physicochemical properties and adsorption mechanisms for the removal of Cd and Pb by the biochars were then investigated. The results indicated that the calcite in OS decomposed into CaO at 900 °C, which...

Biochars have been modified by alkali (Ca(OH) 2 ) to enhance Cd sorption capacity in aqueous solution. In this research, the alkali-modified (Ca) biochars were prepared by co-pyrolyzing lime (Ca(OH) 2 ) and soybean straw (SBB) or rape straw (RSB) at 450 °C. The absorption mechanism was investigated by a series of experiments and was provided by qua...

Abstract While high soil carbon stability had been well known for biochar‐amended soils, how conversion of crop residues into biochar and subsequent biochar amendment (BA) would favor microbial carbon use and carbon sequestration had not been clearly understood. In this study, topsoil samples were collected from an upland soil and a paddy soil, bot...

“4 per 1000 Initiative” launched at COP21 has strongly recommended that increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) is a global imperative. However, the strategies to improve agricultural soil functioning and health by an increase in soil C have been poorly addressed. In a rice farm trail, topsoil samples were collected in 2015 respectively in a field ame...

Background: An insight into the molecular composition of ombrotrophic peats of different geographical origin and collected at different depths was achieved by the humeomics method. The humeomic fractionation allowed the separation of molecular components in either organic solvents or water on the basis of their progressive binding strength to the h...

Potentially toxic metals (PTEs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) present in bio-wastes were the major environmental and health risks for soil use. If pyrolyzing bio-wastes into biochar could minimize such risks had not been elucidated. This study evaluated PTE pools, microbial and ARGs abundances of wheat straw (WS), swine manure (SM) and sew...

Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is essential for soil stability, fertility and crop productivity. Recent fidings showed that SOM supramolecular structure is strongly inflenced by cultivation and land management. In this study, we investigated the molecular dynamics of organic matter in soils from three long-term fild-experiments which were subjected for...

Although biochar amendment could increase crop yield globally, it remains unclear how biochar improves grain yield. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the role of plant roots in promoting crop growth under biochar amendment. The field experiment, started in 2015, was conducted in a rainfed region of North China. We hypothesize...

The purpose of this study is to promote a new way of application composite materials to restore eutrophic waters. A new sustainable way of application is based on the “teabag” method, in which materials were placed in water-permeable bags and immersed in the water column in order to sorb phosphate—one of the main contributory element for the eutrop...

To examine the effect of rice straw biochar and the synergism with silicon on Cd immobilization, a Cd-contaminated acidic sandy loam paddy, polluted from emissions from industrial activity, was chosen in central South China. A field trial was conducted over three rice growing seasons during 2016-2017. Rice straw biochar (BR), produced by the pyroly...

The research objective of the study is the estimation of PhoslockTM as a P&N-inactivation agent in the overlying water and sediment cores under oxic and anoxic conditions from a polluted pond. PhoslockTM was compared with ferrihydrite, unmodified bentonite (N-Bentonite), natural Zeolite (N-Zeolite), Alum and commercial Z2G1TM. Under oxic conditions...

Aims Terrestrial plants require relative stable stoichiometry of elements for their growth. The effects of plant species and soil phosphorus (P) concentration on P:nutrient stoichiometry in plant remains still unknown. Methods Soil and plant samples were collected from 88 sites in a P-rich area of a subtropical portion of China to examine the link...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization signifies reduction in soil fertility and release of greenhouse gases (1). An effective technology for soil carbon stabilization requires an extended knowledge of SOC turnover dynamics at a molecular level. To reach this goal, we applied the humeomics methodology on a soil cropped with maize or wheat after 1...

In this review, the evolution of Soil Organic Matter (SOM) research was traced back to outline the main achievement of understanding SOM in relation to its ecological functioning, particularly of carbon sequestration against climate change. The short-coming of soil humus theory, knowledge of SOM protection and stabilization, framework of newly emer...

Aglianicone is an autochthonous variety of black berried wine grape cultivated exclusively in southern Italy, but with limited information on the molecular composition of its grapes. HRMAS NMR spectroscopy was used to identify the primary metabolome of Aglianicone grape pulp from two different vineyards and the observed metabolomic changes reflecte...

The molecular composition of soil organic matter (SOM) of two calcareous soils highly rich in carbonates was assessed before and after decarbonation by acid washing with HCl through ¹³C-CPMAS-NMR spectroscopy and off-line thermochemolysis coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (THM-GC-MS). The acidic treatment promoted a considerable...

Humus or humic substances (HS) are of pivotal importance in the global ecosystem dynamics, since fluctuation in their amount affects not only the growth of both plants and soil microorganisms, but also the main biogeochemical cycles. The development of technologies aimed at controlling HS in the agroecosystem processes is hindered by the limited kn...

A modified inorganic bentonite (Zenith/Fe) based on natural bentonite has been evaluated for phosphate uptake under various physicochemical conditions prevailing in natural water bodies. The effects of material fraction size, solution alkalinity, dissolved organic matter (DOM), solution potential (E h ), ionic strength on the adsorption of phosphat...

Organic amendments (OA) have been applied in many mercury (Hg)-polluted paddy soils to meet increasing food demands with scarce land resources. However, little is known on the effects of different OAs on Hg dissolution and the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil pore waters, both of which may be associated with Hg mobility. Conseq...

Purpose Identification of phosphorus (P) species is essential to understand the transformation and availability of P in soil. However, P species as affected by land use change along with fertilization has received little attention in a sub-alpine humid soil of Tibet plateau. Materials and methods In this study, we investigated the changes in P spe...