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Managing metal(loid) contamination for safe rice production
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DOI：10.1038/s43017-026-00804-z.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Increasing contamination of rice paddies by toxic metal(loid)s from anthropogenic sources threatens food security and public health. In this Perspective, we outline the problem of metal(loid) contamination in paddy soils and propose an activity-centric framework for safeguarding rice production. Approximately 14–17% of croplands exceed safe thresholds for at least one toxic metal(loid), exposing 0.9–1.4 billion people to elevated ecological and health risks. Management strategies that reduce the total mass of toxic metal(loid)s in soils are useful for restoring sites with high metal(loid) concentrations. However, these approaches are expensive and interrupt crop production, making them poorly suited to most in-production rice paddies with low-to-moderate contamination. Activity-centric strategies aim to reduce metal(loid) bioavailability and plant uptake at the soil–water–root–grain continuum, offering a production-compatible alternative. An integrated risk management framework that bridges risk-informed implementation of technologies with localized policy governance to guide regional-scale metal(loid) management is proposed. Further research is needed to develop soil amendment materials and functional synthetic microbial communities that synergistically address metal(loid) contamination and actively contribute to overall soil health and resilience. Toxic metal(loid)s in paddy soils accumulate in rice grains, leading to human health risks from dietary metal exposure. This Perspective describes metal(loid) sources and biogeochemical strategies to reduce metal(loid) bioavailability and uptake, and it proposes a framework for coordinating science, policy and practice in contaminated paddy fields.
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71.5
Papers:
51
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0
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