Collection Overview

Scientific Reports has launched a Guest-Edited Collection on Land decontamination.

Land decontamination restores polluted soil from industrial, mining, agricultural, and urban sources. Through strategies like bioremediation, phytoremediation, chemical and physical treatments, it reduces pollutant mobility, improves soil health, and enables safe land use. By integrating environmental geochemistry, remediation engineering, and sustainable land management, land decontamination promotes ecological resilience and responsible development in both urban and rural settings.

This will be a Collection of research papers and will be open for submissions from all authors – on the condition that the manuscripts fall within the scope of the Collection and of Scientific Reports more generally. Narrative review articles are also welcomed to our sister journal, Scientific Reviews. We are welcoming submissions until 28th January 2027.

Why are you excited about this Collection? 

"The relentless expansion of industrialization, mining, and intensive agriculture has left our global soils deeply scarred by hazardous pollutants. Land decontamination is no longer just a technical necessity—it is an ecological imperative for a climate-resilient future. I am incredibly excited about this Collection because it bridges pioneering science with actionable, real-world healing, moving beyond containment to true soil health restoration. By combining advanced biotechnologies like phytoremediation with precision digital tools, this Collection will shape the future of sustainable land management. Researchers should submit here to be part of a high-impact, globally visible platform that turns innovative restoration theory into frontline environmental solutions." - Dr. Chitranjan K. Sharma

This Collection also supports and amplifies research related to SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy.

Why submit to a Collection? 

Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by Guest Editors, who are experts in their fields, and In-House Editors and are supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores, and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest. 

Who is involved? 

Guest Editors:

• Zaixing Huang, University of Wyoming, USA
• Chitranjan Kumar, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
• Qing Luo, Shenyang University, China

Internal Team:

• In-House Editor: Lin Qian, Scientific Reports, China
• Commissioning Editor: Ashiya Salim, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK
• Managing Editor: Amy Irving, Fully OA Brands, Springer Nature, UK

How can I submit my paper? 

Visit the Collection page  to find out more about this Collection and how to submit your article.