The role of contaminant risk landscapes in the Anthropocene

Across the planet, human mobilization of chemical pollution and widespread land-cover changes are key markers of the Anthropocene. However, because they occur at different spatial scales, contaminant mobilization and land-cover changes are generally studied as separate issues. Landscapes differ in how contaminants are processed and risk manifests. The way that landscapes are altered plays a critical role in the likelihood that any particular place will capture, sequester, and transform contaminants, ultimately impacting bioavailability to people and wildlife. This article introduces a conceptual framework—the “contaminant risk landscape”, which merges perspectives from geochemistry, landscape ecology, and ecotoxicology—to improve understanding of the transport, fate, and impact of toxic contaminants in the natural world. Successful management and mitigation of contaminant toxicity requires a merging of these diverse perspectives and traditions to achieve environmentally just solutions.