Control of Soil Microbiota on Soil Ecosystem Functioning and Plant Yields
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 13259
Special Issue Editors
Interests: soil microbial ecology; functional diversity; plant–soil–microbial interaction
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil constitutes one of the most diverse ecosystems on the earth. A handful of soil contains, on average, more than a thousand million cells encompassing bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists, earthworms, termites, and more—collectively known as the soil biome. Soil biodiversity, especially the soil microbiome, which mainly includes bacteria, fungi, and archaea, plays a critical role in ecosystem functions such as terrestrial biogeochemical chemical cycles and the maintenance of soil fertility, by decomposing and mineralizing organic byproducts into inorganic forms and simpler organic forms which encourage plant health and growth. Productive soil continually supports higher biomass production and can be used as a proxy of ecosystem health. Harnessing these soil processes can help us to meet the growing demand for agricultural productivity and healthy ecosystems. However, this first requires a deeper understanding of the link between soil microbiome structure and soil functions.
This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality scientific research papers, reviews, and opinion papers highlighting links between soil microbial communities and soil functioning, in order to examine how these changes affect plant health and production in agroecosystems. Studies that cover the following topics: (i) soil management practices (organic vs. synthetic fertilizers, tillage system); (ii) environmental disturbances (e.g., drought, flooding, salinity, warming, etc.), will be given the highest priority. Different approaches ranging from traditional methods to advanced molecular (metagenomic and transcriptomic) and biochemical techniques (PLFA-SIP, proteomic) for studying soil microbiomes and their role in soil functioning are welcome.
Interested authors should submit abstracts to the Guest Editors, Shamina Imran Pathan ([email protected]) and Giacomo Pietramellara ([email protected]) for assessment and approval before submitting full manuscripts. Authors are encouraged to submit their contributions as soon as possible, with abstracts being submitted prior to 17 March 2022 and the full manuscript by 17 June 2022.
Dr. Shamina Imran Pathan
Prof. Dr. Giacomo Pietramellara
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- microbial community structure
- functional diversity
- soil-plant-interaction
- ecosystem functioning
- climate change
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.