Advanced Research on Soil-Borne Diseases in Forests

Dear Colleagues,

Forests are essential for life. To protect the health of forest systems, we must integrate the knowledge of ecology, entomology, pathology and silviculture, among others. One of the first steps is to understand the ecology of pathogenic microorganisms that cause tree diseases. Diseases originating in tree roots are often apparently inappreciable during part of the biological cycle of soil-borne pathogens. However, they cause significant damage and losses due to tree mortality and reduced tree growth, although they are also components of forest ecosystems. The ecological effect of new host–pathogen associations, the international plant trade or the emergence of more virulent pathogen genotypes has been enhanced by environmental changes and human activity.

This Special Issue of Pathogens, “Advanced Research on Soil-Borne Diseases in Forests”, aims to address the current state of knowledge and latest research on forest-soil pathogenic microorganisms, with a focus on their interactions with their hosts and with their environment. The objective is to review important soil pathogens such as Oomycetes, fungi such as genera Armillaria, Heterobasidion, Fusarium and others, and pathogenic bacteria, all of them involved in the development of diseases in forest nurseries, plantations and forests. We will try to cover topics such as: genomics, tree–pathogen interaction, etiology and epidemiology, ecology, application of diagnostic methods in research, and the management and biocontrol of soil-borne diseases.

Dr. José Alfonso Domínguez-Núñez
Prof. Dr. Miguel Talavera
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. Pathogens 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 2700 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.

• soil-borne tree diseases
• soil health
• fungi
• disease control
• tree–pathogen interactions