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Heavy metal enrichment in road dust has resulted from intensive anthropogenic activity, particularly urbanization, industrial activities and traffic emission, posing a hazard to urban ecosystems and human health. To promote optimal road dust management in urban environments, it is necessary to assess the possible ecological and health impact of toxic elements in road dust. In a heavily populated megacity like Dhaka, Bangladesh, large-scale risk assessments of contamination in road dust with heavy metals are limited. The present study aims at presenting a concentration of twenty-five metals in road dust (Na, K, Cs, Rb, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, Sb, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zr and W) in Dhaka megacity. We used a critical source-based positive matrix factorization model, source-oriented potential ecological risks and health risks. Out of the studied metals, Na, Ca, Zn, Cd, Cu, Zr and W exceeded the shale value. About 73%, 48%, 29% and 32% of sampling sites showed a higher level of pollution based on PLI, NIPI, PER and NIRI, respectively. PMF model identified that Cd (85.3%), Cr (62.4%), Ni (58.2%), Zn (81.8%) and Mn (65.9%) in road dust were primarily attributed to traffic emission, fuel combustion, metal processing, transport sources and natural sources, respectively. Fuel combustion and metal processing posed considerable and high risks based on modified potential ecological risk and NIRI. Based on health hazards, traffic emission posed a high cancer risk in adult males (29%), whereas transport sources contributed to females (21%) and children (23%).

Intense human activities, particularly industrial and agricultural output, has enriched metal(loid)s in riverine sediment and endangered aquatic ecosystems and human health. Promoting proper river management requires an assessment of the possible ecological hazards and pollution posed by metal(loid)s in sediments. However, there are limited large-scale risk assessments of metal(loid)s contamination in riverine sediment in heavily populated nations like Bangladesh. This study compiled data on sediment metal(loid)s, for example, Cd, As, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, Mn, and Zn, from 24 major rivers located across Bangladesh between 2011 and 2022 and applied positive matrix factorization (PMF) to identify the critical metal(loid)s sources and PMF model-based ecological risks. Based on studied metal(loid)s, 12–78% of rivers posed higher contents than the upper continental crust and 8% of the river sediments for Cr and Ni, whereas 4% for Cd and As exceeded probable effect concentration. Cr and Ni in the sum of toxic units (STU), whereas Mn, As and Cd in potential ecological risk (PER) posed the highest contribution to contaminate sediments. In the studied rivers, sediment contaminant Mn derived from natural sources; Zn and Ni originated from mixed sources; Cr and Cu were released from the tannery and industrial emissions and Cd originated from agricultural practices. Source-based PER and NIRI indicated that mixed source (4% rivers) and tannery and industrial emission (4% rivers) posed very high risks in sediments. For the creation of macroscale policies and the restoration of contaminated rivers, our national-scale comprehensive study offers helpful references.

Salt stress has detrimental effects on the growth and development of rice seedlings. In the present study we assessed salt-responsiveness of three coastal rice landraces namely Nona-morchi, Kalihytta and Nara. We conducted two factors pot trial that included five rice genotypes (three candidates coastal rice landraces, Binadhan-10 as tolerant check and BRRI dhan48 as sensitive check) against three salinity levels e.g., control (tap water), 6 and 12 dSm-1 of sodium chloride. Study revealed that, at 12 dSm-1 of salinity, Binadhan-10 showed the lowest reduction in shoot length (14.62%), shoot fresh weight (30.04%) and shoot dry weight (33.71%) which was followed by Nona-morchi, Kalihytta, Nara and BRRI dhan48. Two stress tolerance indices e.g., relative water content (RWC) and electrolyte leakage (EL), also support salt-induced responses of these five rice genotypes. At the highest level of salinity (12 dSm-1), the lowest RWC reduction was observed in Nona-morchi (8.20%) which is followed by Binadhan-10 (11.38%), Kalihytta (38.93%), BRRI dhan48 (36.30%) and Nara (36.51%). And, the highest EL increased in Nara (40.06%) which is followed by BRRI dhan48 (22.06%), Kalihytta (21.12%), Binadhan-10 (8.64%) and Nona-morchi (5.87%) compared with their respective controls. Importantly, photosynthetic pigments profile (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll) were increased in Nona-morchi (24.48, 15.22 and 21.87%, respectively) and Binadhan-10 (13.75, 12.50 and 13.41%, respectively) and reduced in Kalihytta (7.89, 19.42 and 11.08%, respectively), Nara (27.76, 31.32 and 28.76%, respectively) and BRRI dhan48 (32.73, 36.97 and 34.02%, respectively) at 12 dSm-1 salinity compared with their respective controls. It is to noteworthy that at 6 dSm-1 of salt stress, shoot length significantly decreased in the sensitive check BRRI dhan48 by 23.07%, Kalihytta by 17.32% and Nara by 11.54%. While, no significant effect of 6 dSm-1 of salt stress was observed in Binadhan-10 and Nona-morchi in case of shoot length, root length, shoot fresh and dry weight, EL and RWC. Among the three coastal rice landraces, Nona-morchi found as highly tolerant and Kalihytta were found as moderately tolerant while Nara was identified as sensitive against salt stress (12 dSm-1). In the future, these identified salt tolerant rice genotypes might be the ideal resource for breeding new salt tolerant rice varieties.

Silicon (Si) is recognized as a beneficial element that enhances crop growth and productivity under both optimal and stress conditions. Increasing cotton productivity using sustainable strategies hold great promise amidst unprecedented climatic challenges. Here, we investigated the comparative effects of two soil-applied Si sources e.g., sodium metasilicate (MS), and silicic acid (SA) on upland cotton. Five treatments namely, 1 mM and 2 mM of both MS and SA, along with a water-treated control (no Si) were applied. Results showed that both MS and SA, applied at seedling stage, significantly improved plant biomass and key physiological traits like relative water content and total chlorophylls compared with the control. Notably, 2 mM MS treatment led to substantial enhancements in fiber yield and quality, increasing lint weight by 47%, seed weight by 47%, and staple length by 11% relative to Si-untreated control. This treatment aslo promoted the highest uptake and accumulation of silica (91%), which was associated with improved uptake of essential soil nutrients—nitrogen (37%), phosphorus (32%), potassium (64%), calcium (25%), magnesium (21%), and a 49% increase in K + /Na + in cotton leaves in comparison with that of Si-untreated plants. Correlation matrix and principal component analysis revealed that both 1 mM and 2 mM MS, as well as 2 mM SA, significantly contributed to enhanced growth and yield of cotton primarily through increased acquisition of major nutrient elements from soils. These findings provide a foundation for formulating suitable Si supplementation regimes to promote sustainable cotton production with greater nutrient use efficiency at field scale.

Silicon (Si) application has great potential to improve salt tolerance in a variety of crop plants. However, it is unclear how Si influences the responses of contrasting rice cultivars when exposed to excessive salt. Here, we investigated the functions of Si in alleviating the negative effects of salt stress on two contrasting rice cultivars, namely BRRI dhan48 (salt-sensitive) and Binadhan-10 (salt-tolerant). Rice seedlings was pre-treated with three doses of Si (as silicic acid; 0, 1 and 2 mM) for 14 days at one-day interval before being exposed to salt stress (10 dSm−1) in a sustained water bath system. The results demonstrated that the seedlings of BRRI dhan48 and Binadhan-10, respectively exhibited substantial reductions in shoot height (16 and 9%), shoot fresh weight (64 and 43%) and shoot dry weight (50 and 39%) under salinity. Intriguingly, BRRI dhan48 pre-treated with 1 and 2 mM Si, respectively, showed a higher increase in shoot height (SH) (by 25.90 and 26.08%) as compared with Binadhan-10 (by 3 and 8%) under salt stress compared with their respective controls. Data revealed that a comparatively higher improvement in the growth performances of the salt-induced Si pre-treated BRRI dhan48 than that of Binadhan-10. For example, 1 and 2 mM of Si treatments significantly attributed to elevated leaf relative water content (RWC) (13 and 22%), proline (138 and 165%), chlorophyll a (42 and 44%), chlorophyll b (91 and 72%), total chlorophyll (58 and 53%) and carotenoids (33 and 29%), and recovery in the reductions of electrolyte leakage (13 and 21%), malondialdehyde content (23 and 30%) and shoot Na+/K+ ratio (22 and 52%) in BRRI dhan48 compared with Si-untreated control plants under salt stress. In addition, we found salt-tolerant Binadhan-10 also had enhanced RWC (9 and 19%), proline (12 and 26%) with pre-treatment with 1 and 2 mM of Si, respectively, under salt stress, while no significant differences were noticed in the case of photosynthetic pigments and Na+/K+ ratio. Our results showed that Si supplementation potentiated higher salt-tolerance ability in the salt-sensitive BRRI dhan48 as compared with salt-tolerant Binadhan-10. Thus, Si application could be highly beneficial in the growth recovery of the salinity-affected salt-sensitive high yielding rice cultivars in the saline-prone areas.

Human populations are being exposed to a wide spectrum of radiation from soils as a result of the availability of radiation sources. Assessing the ecological and health effects of radionuclides in soils is crucial to support the optimal soil management practices but large-scale studies are limited. This study compiled data on radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th, 40K, 238U, and 137Cs) in soils located across the world (44 countries and 159 places) between 2008 and 2022 and applied radiological hazards indices and several multivariate statistical approaches. The average activity concentration (Bq/kg) of 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, 238U, and 137Cs were 408.56, 144.80, 508.78, 532.78, and 83.12, respectively, whereas 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 238U exceeded the standard limits. The principal component analysis explained more than 91% of variation in soils. Based on the geoaccumulation index, 40K posed moderately to heavy contamination whereas 238U and 226Ra posed moderate contamination in soils. Moreover, the mean values of radiological hazards evaluation such as radium equivalent activity (487.17 Bq/kg), external radiation hazard indices (1.32), internal hazard indices (2.15), absorbed dose rate (247.86 nGyh−1), annual effective dose rate (1.82 mSvy−1), activity utilization index (4.54) and excess lifetime cancer risk (63.84 × 10–4) were higher than recommended limit suggesting significant radiological risks in study region soils. The findings indicated that the study area soils were contaminated by radionuclides and unsafe for hazards in terms of the health risks linked with studied radioactive contents. The study is valuable for mapping radioactivity across the globe to determine the level of radioactivity hazards.

Water pollution is a significant problem stemming from several causes, with the contamination of heavy metal(oid)s being a primary concern. This is especially concerning because of the poisonous characteristics of these metal(oid)s and their effects on the aquatic ecosystem. This research is distinguished by its unique methodology for assessing metal(oid)s in the surface water of Bangladeshi rivers over a period of sixteen years, from 2007 to 2022. This work seeks to elucidate recent results on metal(oid) concentrations, contamination levels, multivariate statistical analyses, source identification using positive matrix factorization models, and probabilistic health risks. The findings reveal that the concentrations of chromium, nickel, arsenic, cadmium, and lead exceeded the acceptable limits for drinking water established by the World Health Organization (WHO) by factors of 4.64, 2.25, 22.51, 45.60, and 10.13, respectively. Our meta-analysis, subsequent to a Principal Component Analysis, indicated that increased concentrations of hazardous metals account for 85.47% of the variation from both anthropogenic and natural causes. Ecological risk indicators, including the metal index (84.06) and the Nemerow pollution index (10.55), indicated significant metal contamination. Ecological risk indicators, like the metal index (84.06) and the Nemerow pollution index (10.55), indicate substantial metal contamination. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model detected the following sources of metals in water: industrial (22%), mixed (32%), agricultural activities (27%), and natural sources (19%). Furthermore, Monte Carlo-simulation-based assessments of health hazards indicated that the mean hazard index (HI) and cancer risk values for adults (301.89 and 422.76) and children (51.56 and 39.45) significantly exceeded the recommended limits, suggesting that both adults and children are vulnerable to potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks. The immediate execution of control measures and regulations is essential to avert escalating pollution in surface water, protect ecosystems, and mitigate health hazards.