Harnessing Microbial Mechanisms for Synergistic Nitrogen and Carbon Management in Agricultural Soils
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editor
Interests: geomicrobiology, biogeochemical cycles; electromicrobiology; soil nitrogen conversion; extracellular electron transfer; microbial interspecies interaction; microbial ecology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Background and Aim:
The urgent need to mitigate climate change and enhance agricultural sustainability has refocused attention on soil microbiomes. Historically, nitrogen and carbon cycles have been managed separately, yet microbial communities intrinsically link these cycles through processes like nitrification, denitrification, and carbon sequestration. This Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of these synergistic microbial mechanisms to develop integrated soil management strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve nutrient use efficiency, and build soil health.
Scope:
We seek contributions exploring innovative approaches at the intersection of microbiology, agronomy, and ecology. Topics of interest include the following:
- Engineering or steering rhizosphere and bulk soil microbiomes for dual nutrient and carbon benefits.
- Multi-omics insights into microbial consortia regulating C–N interactions.
- Field-scale applications of microbial inoculants, organic amendments, or cropping systems that optimize these synergies.
- Modeling microbial processes to predict soil C–N dynamics under climate variability.
Solicited Papers:
We welcome original research, reviews, and perspectives that present fundamental discoveries, novel methodologies, or translational case studies. Interdisciplinary studies bridging mechanistic microbiology with practical agronomic outcomes are particularly encouraged.
Prof. Dr. Xing Liu
Guest Editor
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 microbiome
- nitrogen cycle
- carbon sequestration
- sustainable agriculture
- soil health
- climate-smart agriculture
- nutrient use efficiency
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