Abstract: Soil pollution is worsening globally, threatening future food production, ecosystems and human health. Among the myriads of pollutants, cadmium pollution is among the most widespread and poses serious risks to human health. In this talk, I will present recent studies on the causes of cadmium pollution in agricultural soil and mitigation strategies, focusing on paddy rice systems that provide staple food for over half of the world’s population.
Fang-Jie Zhao is a Professor in the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, China. He leads a research group focusing on the biogeochemistry of essential trace elements and toxic metals/metalloids in soil-plant systems, biofortification of essential micronutrients and bioremediation of contaminated soils. Prior to taking up his current position, he worked at Rothamsted Research for over 20 years. He is a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Analytics) and was awarded the World Academy of Sciences TWAS Award in agricultural science (2024) and the IFA Norman Borlaug Plant Nutrition Award by the International Fertilizer Association (2022).
Host is Fengjie Liu (fengjie.liu@imperial.ac.uk).