Role of Soil Microbial Communities in Maintaining Agricultural Soil Quality
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2024 | Viewed by 797
Special Issue Editors
Interests: microbial communities; microbial biomass; soil enzyme; soil quality; plant production
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil is a natural resource and must be sustainably managed for the future of mankind. Healthy soils are teeming with living organisms: microorganisms, fungi, insects, earthworms, etc. Soil microorganisms play a decisive role in most of the processes taking place in the soil (e.g., soil organic matter formation, residue decomposition, nutrient cycling, pollution degradation, …) and in the formation and maintenance of soil quality. Soil quality can be defined in many different ways, but it is usually understood as the capacity of soil to function to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and support human health and habitation. Agricultural management (crop type, tillage, fertilization, plant protection) affects soil quality in many ways (biological, chemical, and physical). For sustainable cultivation, to maintain and increase soil quality, it is necessary to know these ways and their effect on soil microbes. Because of the decisive role of soil microbes, it is also necessary to know in which way the microbial community of the soil should be modified to improve soil quality.
For this Special Issue, authors are invited to publish articles related to the assessment of the amount, activity, and diversity of soil microbial community; development of agricultural practices to modify the soil microbiota; establishment of relationships between the soil microbiota’s properties and the effects of agricultural methods (crop type, tillage, fertilization, plant protection); establishment of relationships between the soil microbiota’s properties and soil quality; identifying which microbial groups have critical roles in soil processes. Studies assessing the diversity of soil microbiota and proving its importance in maintaining agroecosystem stability are especially welcome.
Dr. Gábor Csitári
Dr. Zoltan Toth
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- soil microbial communities
- microbial biomass
- enzyme activity
- diversity
- management methods
- soil quality
