Environmental resilience: navigation of lead and beneficial elements in soil

Lead contamination in soil and water environments is a common and harmful global concern because lead poses risks to humans, animals, and plant growth. There is heavy soil contamination, specifically in the vicinity of shooting ranges and mines. Such sites should use soil remediation techniques to prevent lead from migrating through the soil profile into groundwater and being absorbed by root systems, which could endanger the environment and public health. These regions have significant levels of lead contamination and extremely low asset values. Due to their high management and conveyance costs, conventional treatments such as soil washing, excavation, and transportation to landfill sites are therefore inappropriate. Certain heavy metals like Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, and Zn are thought to be advantageous for the growth and development of plants. Plants only need a certain amount of them. On the other hand, when these metal ions are present in high concentrations, they can cause varying degrees of toxicity in plants. This can result in stunted growth, disruption of enzymatic and metabolic pathways, and harm to the morphology and physiology of plants, all of which can lower overall plant productivity. In summary, the evaluation of the impact of lead and other heavy metals on soil metabolism is a challenging task, and the biological system has shown to be a sensitive instrument for assessing the possible effects of heavy metals on the soil environment. Consequently, it can be clearly stated that a certain level of heavy metal is all that is needed to restore the physiological and morphological traits of plants, based on many reliable research reports. To maintain the global ecological balance, it will therefore be crucial to emphasize more programs aimed at improving our understanding of the entire mechanism underlying the antagonistic and synergistic effects of heavy metals on plants. This chapter peers at the way beneficial elements such as lead (Pb) and other heavy metals navigate through the soil to influence plant growth and environmental resilience.