Soil Microbial and Nematode Communities: Diversity, Function, and Responses to Agronomic Practices
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editors
Interests: soil microbial ecology; soil nematodes; soil enzymes; plant–soil microbe interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: morphological identification and taxonomic classification of free-living and plant parasitic nematodes; geographical distribution of soil nematodes in different types of agroecosystems and natural ecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil microorganisms and nematodes play central roles in ecosystem functioning by regulating nutrient cycling, influencing plant–soil interactions, and contributing to organic matter turnover. Their communities are highly responsive to agronomic practices, which can either enhance or degrade soil biodiversity and function.
This Special Issue focuses on how management strategies such as organic and mineral fertilization, crop rotation, irrigation regimes, and biological amendments influence the composition, diversity, and ecological roles of soil microbial and nematode assemblages. Emphasis is placed on studies that explore community dynamics, trophic structure, microbe–nematode interactions, and contributions to soil food web stability.
We welcome submissions that apply field or greenhouse experiments, molecular tools, functional indices, or ecological modeling approaches. Manuscripts that integrate biological data with indicators of soil quality or resilience are particularly encouraged. The aim is to compile studies that improve our understanding of belowground biodiversity under managed conditions and contribute to the development of sustainable agricultural systems.
Dr. Nikolaos Monokrousos
Dr. Andrea Čerevková
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. Agronomy 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
- soil biodiversity
- organic amendments
- soil health indicators
- microbe–nematode interactions
- co-occurrence networks
- plant–microbe interactions
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