Intensive horticultural production systems (HPS) in Mediterranean regions face increasing pressure from heavy metals (HMs) buildup in soils, water resources, and crops, raising concerns for agro-environmental sustainability and food safety. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the origins, impacts, and mitigation options of HMs in Mediterranean HPS, with emphasis on soil health, irrigation-water integrity, and plant uptake pathways. Using a PRISMA-guided selection strategy, literature published between 2021 and 2025 was searched across major databases, with 362 records were identified, and 150 peer-reviewed studies were retained after screening. Bibliometric mapping with VOSviewer was used to structure the evidence base and connect dominant themes linking horticultural practices, HMs, impacts, Mediterranean settings, and mitigation technologies. The evidence indicates that metal inputs are primarily associated with intensive agrochemical use, organic amendments, irrigation with impacted water sources, and additional practices such as plasticulture and protected cultivation systems. Reported impacts converge on soil-function decline, enhanced plant metal uptake with potential toxicity constraints, and off-site transfer to groundwater and surface waters through leaching and runoff processes. Mitigation approaches consistently highlight soil immobilization and recovery, water-quality protection via precision irrigation and treatment options, plus monitoring frameworks combining indices, GIS/remote sensing, and emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) tools for decision support. This review integrates PRISMA-based screening with bibliometric analysis to provide a structured, evidence-driven synthesis linking contamination sources, environmental and agronomic impacts, and technology-oriented mitigation strategies within Mediterranean horticultural production systems.
Sanad et al. (Wed,) studied this question.