Water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes) is a floating hydrophyte plant considered one of the 100 most harmful invasive alien species in the world. Its main uses have been developed along three lines: (1) control, (2) eradication, and (3) wastewater bioremediation. The objective of this work was to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) focused on the documented uses of Pontederia crassipes, and to determine if there is evidence of its use as a raw material (plant biomass) for the generation of biodegradable products. This systematic literature review was conducted in six international databases, considering three inclusion criteria and three exclusion criteria. The available information about Pontederia crassipes showed a small percentage of studies aimed at the use of its biomass as a raw material for the creation of various biodegradable products, such as cardboard, paper, packaging and some other products, since this species is adaptable and prolific in multiple regions of Mexico.

Sustainable development implies the proper use of natural resources, such as water resources, but the environmental, economic, and social benefits should also be considered. In the water sector, for example, sanitation is one of the challenges that arise in rural localities. However, issues related to it may be solved with the use of constructed wetlands (CWs), which may allow the cultivation of ornamental plants with phytoremediation properties. Through a content analysis, the environmental, economic, and social potential of ornamental species used in Mexico for phytoremediation in CWs is documented in this study. The environmental potential of the plants was considered based on their phytoremediation properties. The economic potential was determined from research articles and from the National Agri-Food Information System. The social potential was analyzed considering the ornamental and artisanal use of the plants. In total, 21 species of phytoremediation plants were identified. Anthurium andreanum and Zantedeschia aethiopica stand out for their commercial value, reported in 2018 to be 272,875 and 30,318 USD, respectively, at the national level. The social potential was identified by the ornamental or artisanal use for flower arrangements and weaving. This study reveals that the use of CWs with ornamental vegetation is a sustainable option to clean wastewater, reuse water, and generate economic incentives. Thus, it is essential to provide the community with adequate training for the management of CWs in those sites that lack treatment systems.

Improving water quality is a relevant environmental aspect, and using constructed wetlands (CWs) is a sustainable option for this; both porous material filled cells and plants that collectively remove contaminants must be readily available and inexpensive. This study evaluated CWs and their functionality by comparing two ornamental plants (Spathiphyllum wallisii and Hedychium coronarium) planted in experimental mesocosm units filled with layers of porous river rock, tepezil, and soil, or in mesocosms with layers of porous river rock, and tepezil, without the presence of soil. The findings during the experiments (180 days), showed that the removal of pollutants (chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids suspended (TSS), nitrogen as ammonium (N-NH₄), as nitrate (N-NO₃), and phosphate (P-PO₄) was 20–50% higher in mesocosms with vegetation that in the absence of this, and those mesocosms with the soil layer between 33–45% favored removal of P-PO₄. Differences regarding of vegetation removal were only observed for N-NH₄, being 25–45% higher in CWs with H. coronarium, compared with S. wallisii. Both species are suitable for using in CWs, for its functionality as phytoremediation, and aesthetic advantages could generate interest for wastewater treatment in rural communities, parks, schools or in domiciliary levels like floral flower boxes in the backyard. The study also revealed that a soil layer in CWs is necessary to increase the removal of P-PO₄, an ion hardly eliminated in water treatment.

The soils of agricultural crops begin to suffer from arvenses and pathogens that are harmful to new crops after going through several production cycles. The chemical control of these pathogens is carried out through fumigants, which are applied at doses necessary to reduce the infectious potential at levels acceptable for crops. However, this may affect the biological, physical and chemical environment of the soil and, at the same time, the crops due to the toxic residues of these fumigants. In this work, the analysis of the pasteurization process of greenhouse soils sown with saladette tomato (Solamun lycopersicum) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) was carried out, using water vapor for the pasteurization process at a temperature of 120 °C, obtained from a parabolic cylindrical solar concentrator (PCC), eliminating the use of boilers that conventionally require this method and use a lot of electrical energy, which increases the cost of the procedure and also causes the pollution of the environment. An experimental design was built for which tests were carried out at different steam emission times for each tomato and cucumber test soil. For each emission, it was necessary to reach 80 psi of pressure, with a steam exit time of a maximum of 160 s. Once this disinfection technique was applied, the presence of microorganisms such as Cladosporium sp, bacteria, pathogens and fungi was determined by various culture media. By means of this, the pathogens eliminated were verified, which were promoted by the process with respect to the test soil.

As a governmental function, development for progress and welfare is a highly complex process that involves updating various attributes (such as a paradigm, critical or alternative, depending on of the way in which they are articulated regarding social aspects, environmental, and economic growth, as well as the institutional capacity of public and private actors). Regarding this, we are interested in the municipal institutional capacity (MIC) as a skill to carry out the functions and appropriate tasks that municipalities must fulfill in an effective, efficient, and sustainable way, and it varies considerably, depending on each local context. In order to analyze the relevance of the current official regionalization as a state government strategy for the centralized construction of MIC, an exploratory approach to its spatial behavior in the State of Veracruz, Mexico, was carried out. Given the nature of the study, a purely mixed approach, sequential exploratory design, subnational analysis methodology, and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) were employed. The variable to be analyzed is the 2016 Municipal Functional Capacities Index (Índice de Capacidades Funcionales Municipales (ICFM)), with the Geostatistics Framework cartographic base of the 2020 Population and Housing Census. The analysis units are 212 municipalities in the 2014–2017 government period. As a result, it was confirmed that the current regionalization was irrelevant, owing to the absence of global spatial autocorrelation, and it was concluded that targeted interventions are necessary according to regional modeling techniques, based on scientific evidence.

Lead (Pb) as a pollutant is not biodegradable, tends to accumulate in different organisms, and can affect, for example, the performance of maize crops. However, only a few studies have reported on the effect of lead (Pb) and the relationship with the potential of hydrogen (pH) of water on crop performance. Thus, this study aimed at determining the influence of Pb and its relationship with the pH of water on the growth of Creole maize (Zea mays L.). In order to achieve this, a double bottom vessel system, isolated from the soil, was used to expose the plants to an aqueous Pb solution based on the equivalence of 1.5985 g of lead nitrate (Pb(NO₃)₂) per g of Pb. An experimental design of the two-factor response surface methodology (RSM) was applied. The Creole maize plants were exposed to four different concentrations of Pb in water [0 g L⁻¹ (P1: control); 0.33 g L⁻¹ (P2); 0.66 g L⁻¹ (P3); 1 g L⁻¹ (P4)], as well as to three different pH levels (5.5 (pH1); 6.5 (pH2); 7.5 (pH3)) in clay soil typical of the region. Subsequently, the relationship of these variables with maize growth was determined. The results showed a decrease in leaf growth, height, stem circumference, and root. However, it was also determined that these negative effects can be mitigated by controlling the pH of water in 7.5. Failure to control the combination of these two factors in the cultivation process generally results in an impact on the growth of the maize seedling. In addition, leaf discoloration was also observed in the leaves of maize plants from the concentration of 0.33 g L⁻¹ (P2), which suggests a nutritional anomaly that is toxic to the plant.