Book excerpt: Hazardous and Trace Materials in Soil and Plants: Sources, Effects and Management explores the latest advancements in reducing, avoiding and eliminating soil contaminants that challenge the health and safety of agricultural plants. With a focus on minimizing the production of those hazardous substances, controlling their distribution and ensuring safe utilization, the book explores each contributing area and provides insights toward improved, sustainable and secure production. This is an excellent reference resource on both current research and future directions from laboratory research to field applications. The combined impacts of climate change and industrialization have led to increased and diversified threats to the health of the soil in which our food crops are grown, as well as in the plants themselves. This dual-hazard scenario is increasingly recognized as a threat to not just the environment, but to global food security as agricultural soils contaminated with pollutants alter plant metabolism, thus resulting in reduced crop quality and production quantity. - Addresses the challenges of mitigating toxic substances in plants, including agricultural crops - Presents current status and future prospects for managing biotic and abiotic environmental stress factors through plant stress tolerance mechanisms - Includes chapters that address both biotic and abiotic stresses, agricultural and environmental science, toxicology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and molecular studies - Integrates insights and developments between environmental and plant science