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Agronomy
Special Issues
Highlighting and Enhancing Ecosystem Services of Crops and Weeds in...
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Highlighting and Enhancing Ecosystem Services of Crops and Weeds in Agroecosystems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Weed Science and Weed Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 671

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ioannis Gazoulis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: agronomy; weed management; agronomic practices
Dr. Ilias Travlos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Interests: agronomy; weed biology and ecology; herbicide resistance; integrated weed management; agroecological weed management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Providing food for different organisms, hosts for pollinators and natural enemies, soil stability, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, carbon sequestration, improved water infiltration, runoff reduction and erosion prevention are some of the various ecosystem services potentially provided by crops and weeds. However, the impact of several underestimated crops (such as legumes, industrial and new crops) and natural vegetation on human well-being and climate change mitigation is usually overlooked. The aim of this Special Issue includes the identification, quantification, prioritization, and enhancement of ecosystem services and the study of their interactions and effects on the sustainability of agroecosystems. The Special Issue welcomes research and reviews on multiple aspects of ecosystem services, as well as their evaluation and further promotion.

Please share your studies on any of the several topics related to various ecosystem and agroecosystem services and the effects of agronomic practices (inlcuding crop rotation, intercropping, cover crops, mulching, false seed bed, and other crop and weed management methods).

Dr. Ioannis Gazoulis
Dr. Ilias Travlos
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

  • ecosystem services
  • agroecology
  • legumes
  • industrial crops
  • weed management
  • agronomy
  • weeds
  • integrated management

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 789 KiB  
Article
The Relationship Between the Germination of Silky Bent Grass (Apera spica-venti (L.) Beauv.) Diaspores and Their Age, Place of Occurrence, and Action of Stimulating Substances
by Agnieszka Lejman
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030715 - 15 Mar 2025
Viewed by 325
Abstract
Apera spica-venti is a weed that is threatening agricultural crops worldwide. Current reports do not fully agree on the biology of the weed, regarding the viability of diaspores, nor is there sufficient information on how different factors affect the germination of its seeds, [...] Read more.
Apera spica-venti is a weed that is threatening agricultural crops worldwide. Current reports do not fully agree on the biology of the weed, regarding the viability of diaspores, nor is there sufficient information on how different factors affect the germination of its seeds, such as the abundance of soil where the mother plant (plants from which diaspores (caryopsis) were collected) has grown or the effect of biostimulants on their germination. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to compare the germination of newly harvested seeds of A. spica-venti (3 months after harvest) with seeds that had been stored for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. Furthermore, the influence of seed age, weed location, and biostimulants (silicon and algal liquids) on the germination of A. spica-venti diaspores was checked. Three-year-old seeds showed the highest percentage of germination, and their germination process was positively correlated with soil abundance (from sites of mother plant material collection) and macronutrients (N, P, K). The strongest correlations were recorded for 3- and 4-year-old seeds. A. spica-venti seeds treated with biostimulant preparations were characterized by varying percentages of germination. No clear trend was noted regarding the germination capacity of the harvested seeds as the diaspores aged, and it depended on the type of stimulant and the place of origin of the seed. Moreover, seeds from the harvest year treated with the stimulant were characterized by a higher germination percentage. A. spica-venti is a highly fecund weed, a trait that makes it very common in crops, appearing en masse and providing formidable competition to crops, thus causing significant yield losses. Awareness of the vitality of diaspores will allow for the possible regulation and control of this weed in order to prevent yield loss in crops. The theme of diaspore viability warrants further investigation. Further research should include observations of factors affecting germination, including new stimulants emerging on the agricultural market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Highlighting and Enhancing Ecosystem Services of Crops and Weeds in Agroecosystems)
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