Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.2
3.3
Journals
Agronomy
Special Issues
Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses
share announcement

Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2025 | Viewed by 4108

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Brigitta Tóth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: abiotic stress; antioxidative enzymes; biofertilizers/biostimulants; biotic stress; free radicals; plant nutrients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Stress in plants refers to any environmental condition or factor that adversely affects their growth, development, or productivity. Just like animals, plants can experience stress from various sources, which can be broadly categorized into abiotic (extreme temperatures, water imbalance, light stress, nutrient stress, salinity stress, pollution stress) and biotic stresses (from pathogens and herbivores). In addition, stresses can occur by human activity-induced environmental changes and natural environmental changes. Anthropogenic stress (pollution, habitat destruction and fragmentation, climate change, introduction of invasive species, agricultural practices, overexploitation, and harvesting) refers to environmental stresses or pressures on ecosystems and organisms that arise directly or indirectly from human activities. These stresses can have significant impacts on both natural and managed environments, including plants. On the other hand, natural stresses (climate extremes, water availability, edaphic factors, biological interactions, and natural disturbances) on plants refer to environmental factors and conditions that occur without direct human intervention or influence. These stresses are inherent parts of natural ecosystems and can significantly impact plant growth, development, and survival. Understanding how plants respond and adapt to these natural stresses is crucial for ecological research, conservation efforts, and sustainable land management practices. Plants have evolved various physiological, morphological, and biochemical strategies to cope with natural stresses, ensuring their survival and persistence in diverse ecosystems.

When plants experience stress, they initiate various morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses to cope with and adapt to adverse conditions. These responses can include changes in gene expression, production of stress-related proteins, accumulation of protective compounds like antioxidants, and alterations in metabolism to conserve resources.

Furthermore, plants can exhibit varying degrees of tolerance or sensitivity to different types of stress based on their genetic makeup, developmental stage, and environmental history. Agricultural practices often aim to mitigate stress through techniques such as irrigation, fertilization, crop rotation, pest management, and breeding for stress-resistant varieties.

Understanding plant stress is crucial for sustainable agriculture, as it enables farmers and researchers to develop strategies to enhance crop productivity and resilience in the face of changing environmental conditions.

Manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue can include original research data, reviews, and short communications related to plant responses to stressors. This Special Issue mainly focuses on crops, but other kinds of test plants are also welcome. In addition, multidisciplinary studies, including systems biology, molecular biology, genetic, physiological, and biochemical approaches, are also appreciated.

Dr. Brigitta Tóth
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 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

  • abiotic stress
  • allelopathy
  • antioxidant system
  • biostimulants
  • biotic stress
  • climate change
  • ecophysiology
  • free radicals
  • heavy metals
  • metabolites
  • oxidative stress
  • photosynthesis
  • plant stress responses
  • micromorphological changes in plants

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 policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 7085 KiB  
Article
Hidden Stigmas Enhance Heat Resilience: A Novel Breeding Trait for Sustaining Rice Spikelet Fertility Under Nocturnal Heat Stress
by Beibei Qi, Simin Cheng, Youjin Song, Chao Wu and Meng Yang
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 982; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040982 - 18 Apr 2025
Viewed by 226
Abstract
Heat stress during the flowering stage induces a remarkable decrease in rice spikelet fertility, mainly due to poor pollination manifesting as insufficient pollen deposited on the stigma. It is hypothesized that stigma exsertion, which confers a pollination advantage, may enhance pollen reception and [...] Read more.
Heat stress during the flowering stage induces a remarkable decrease in rice spikelet fertility, mainly due to poor pollination manifesting as insufficient pollen deposited on the stigma. It is hypothesized that stigma exsertion, which confers a pollination advantage, may enhance pollen reception and improve female reproductive success under heat stress. The present study aimed to investigate the role of stigma exsertion in spikelet fertility under nocturnal heat. Four rice cultivars exhibiting distinct heat tolerance and twenty rice cultivars with varying degrees of stigma exsertion were grown and subjected to high nighttime temperature treatment at anthesis, in 2023 and 2019, respectively. Heat-tolerant rice cultivars had a relatively low percentage of spikelets with exserted stigmas, and vice versa. Under nocturnal heat stress, rice cultivars exhibiting higher stigma exsertion showed significantly greater reductions in spikelet fertility compared to lower stigma exsertion cultivars. The spikelet fertility of rice cultivars with a higher degree of stigma exsertion was reduced more seriously than that of cultivars with a lower degree of stigma exsertion. Rice spikelet fertility positively correlated with the percentage of hidden stigmas, and exogenous substance-induced increased stigma exsertion led to reduced spikelet fertility under nocturnal heat. These results indicate that a hidden stigma contributes to higher spikelet fertility, while increased stigma exsertion aggravates spikelet sterility in rice cultivars under nocturnal heat conditions. It is proposed that hidden stigmas could serve as a novel breeding trait for sustaining rice spikelet fertility against nocturnal heat stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3420 KiB  
Article
Changes of Catalase and Peroxidase Activity and Expression Under Cold Stress in Prunus persica Cultivars with Different Cold Tolerances
by Ekaterina Vodiasova, Elina Chelebieva, Ekaterina Kladchenko, Oksana Grebennikova, Victoria Uppe, Valentina Tsiupka, Sergey Dolgov and Anatoly Smykov
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 556; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030556 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 578
Abstract
Peach is one of the most common stone fruit crops, but it is also the most thermophilic. One of the main problems in peach cultivation is frost up to −8 °C in spring during pollen development, budding, and flowering. The adaptation of the [...] Read more.
Peach is one of the most common stone fruit crops, but it is also the most thermophilic. One of the main problems in peach cultivation is frost up to −8 °C in spring during pollen development, budding, and flowering. The adaptation of the plant to low temperatures could be related to the activation of the antioxidant system under cold stress. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis of distinct adaptation mechanisms to cold stress in Prunus persica L. cultivars with various cold tolerances. The difference between this study and the previous ones is that previously, only contrasting varieties (resistant and sensitive) were studied. For the first time, we studied the effect of cold stress on cold-resistant varieties but with different degrees of resistance, such as “Loadel” and “Springold” (medium resistant) and “Podarok Like” and “Temisovskij” (highly resistant). The experiment was designed to simulate the effects of short-term cold snaps, which are a common occurrence during February and March in the south of Crimea. A series of tests were conducted on annual shoots that were frozen at −12 °C. The activity and gene expression of two major antioxidant enzymes, catalase and peroxidase, were studied by spectrophotometry and RT-qPCR, respectively. The experiment showed that these enzymes responded differently to cold stress in varieties with different cold tolerances. Catalase responded similarly in all four varieties. After frost, there was an increase in activity (7-fold in “Temisovskij” and 3-fold in “Podarok Like”) and a decrease in expression. In contrast to catalase, peroxidase showed an opposite response to cold stress in medium-tolerant and highly tolerant cultivars. Peroxidase activity after exposure to low temperatures increased in highly tolerant cultivars (1.5-fold in “Temisovskij”), while it decreased in medium-tolerant cultivars (1.5–2 fold in “Springold” and “Loadel”, respectively). The change in peroxidase expression was the opposite. It decreased in highly resistant varieties and increased in medium-resistant varieties. Thus, our results revealed the opposite response of one of the major antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase) in moderately resistant and highly resistant cultivars. The data obtained show that varieties with a high degree of resistance could have other adaptation mechanisms involved, which may be useful for selecting resistant varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2510 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Silicon–Melatonin Nanoparticles on Improving Germination Parameters and Reducing Salinity Toxicity by Maintaining Ion Homeostasis in Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L. Seedlings
by Mozhgan Alinia, Seyed Abdolreza Kazemeini, Samad Sabbaghi, Shima Sayahi, Alireza Abolghasemi and Behnam Asgari Lajayer
Agronomy 2025, 15(2), 427; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15020427 - 8 Feb 2025
Viewed by 861
Abstract
The salinity of water and soil is a constraint that has an extreme effect on germination and the establishment of crops. Therefore, it is pivotal to boost crop salt tolerance in global semi-arid regions. By mixing Si in an ME medium, a new [...] Read more.
The salinity of water and soil is a constraint that has an extreme effect on germination and the establishment of crops. Therefore, it is pivotal to boost crop salt tolerance in global semi-arid regions. By mixing Si in an ME medium, a new complex of nanoparticles (Si-CTS-HPC-ME NPs) was synthesized, and we investigated the role of Si-CTS-HPC-ME NPs on Cyamopsis tetragonoloba germination and tolerance against salinity stress. Thus, this study examined the influence of Si-CTS-HPC-ME NPs at different concentrations (N1: 0, N2: 40 and N3: 80 mg L−1) on some germination and seedling growth parameters and the ion homeostasis of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L. (cluster bean) seedlings under three salinity levels (S1: 0, S2: 6 and S3: 12 dS m−1). With increasing salinity, the energy of germination (GE), index of germination (GI), index of vitality (VI), seedling vigor index (SVI), fresh weight (SFW) and dry (SDW) weight of seedlings, plumule length (PL), and radicle length (RL) parameters gradually decreased, while the mean germination time (MGT) and coefficient of velocity of germination (CVG) increased in salt-stressed cluster bean seedlings in comparison to the control. However, the usage of Si-CTS-HPC-ME NPs was effective in enhancing cluster bean tolerance to salinity by enhancing total phenols and flavonoids and improving K+, Si, and Ca2+ uptake, thus reducing lipid peroxidation, decreasing sodium ion uptake and potassium leakage, and promoting germination parameters compared with non-NP-treated seedlings. Meanwhile, 40 mg L−1 Si-CTS-HPC-ME NPs exhibited an effective response in saline conditions compared with the other NP treatments. Consequently, the application of Si-CTS-HPC-ME NPs in salt-stressed cluster bean seedlings can serve as an effective technique to enhance salinity tolerance in saline conditions under arid and semi-arid climatic conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2346 KiB  
Article
Morpho-Physiological Responses of Shade-Loving Fern Polystichum spp. to Single and Combined Lead and Light Stress
by Anna Pietrak, Łukasz Łopusiewicz, Małgorzata Gałczyńska and Piotr Salachna
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2981; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122981 - 14 Dec 2024
Viewed by 930
Abstract
The effects of lead (Pb) stress on plant growth and physiological processes may depend on other environmental stresses coinciding. Knowledge of the response of shade-loving plants to stresses, particularly the relationship between Pb stress and light stress, is lacking. The effects of single [...] Read more.
The effects of lead (Pb) stress on plant growth and physiological processes may depend on other environmental stresses coinciding. Knowledge of the response of shade-loving plants to stresses, particularly the relationship between Pb stress and light stress, is lacking. The effects of single and combined Pb and light stress on the growth and physiological parameters of Polystichum setiferum and Polystichum setiferum ‘Proliferum’ ferns were evaluated under glasshouse conditions. Treatments comprised control (80% shade, ~111 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density, PPFD), light stress (100% full sunlight, ~525 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD), 1000 mg dm−3 Pb solution applied to plants under shade and light stress conditions. Under full sunlight, plants had damaged leaves and reduced leaf biomass, and underground parts of the plants had levels of photosynthetic pigments, reducing sugars and total flavonoids. The Pb stress decreased plant growth, reducing sugars, and free amino acids content, and at the same time increased chlorophyll content in P. setiferum and total polyphenols and flavonoid content in P. setiferum ‘Proliferum’. The combined stress of Pb and full sunlight reduced plant growth and the accumulation of pigments, reducing sugars, and free amino acids without affecting the levels of secondary metabolites. P. setiferum plants accumulated more Pb than P. setiferum ‘Proliferum.’ The fern P. setiferum ‘Proliferum’ was more tolerant to abiotic stresses than the fern P. setiferum. This study provided new insights into the response of shade-loving ornamental plants to single and combined Pb and light stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 3766 KiB  
Article
Microanatomical Properties of Energy Willow (Salix spp.) Leaves after Exposure to Potentially Toxic Elements from Wastewater Solids and Wood Ash
by Csilla Tóth, László Simon and Brigitta Tóth
Agronomy 2024, 14(8), 1625; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14081625 - 25 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 973
Abstract
This open-field small-plot long-term experiment was set up between 2011 and 2021 with willow (Salix triandra × S. viminalis ‘Inger’), grown as a short rotation coppice energy crop in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. The sandy loam Cambisol was treated with wastewater solids (WS) in [...] Read more.
This open-field small-plot long-term experiment was set up between 2011 and 2021 with willow (Salix triandra × S. viminalis ‘Inger’), grown as a short rotation coppice energy crop in Nyíregyháza, Hungary. The sandy loam Cambisol was treated with wastewater solids (WS) in the form of municipal sewage sludge compost (MSSC, 2011, 2013, and 2016), municipal sewage sediment (MSS, 2018), and with willow ash (WA, 2011, 2013, 2016, and 2018). Control plots remained untreated since 2011. All soil treatments significantly enhanced the uptake or accumulation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the leaves of willows. During June 2019, 53 weeks after the last soil treatments, MSSC + MSS-, WA-, and MSSC + MSS + WA-treated willows leaves had 14–68% more As, 17–48% more Ba, 31–104% more Cr, 4–12% more Cu, 6–15% more Mn, 18–218% more Pb, and 11–35% more Zn compared to the untreated control. Significantly higher Mn and Zn concentrations were measured in the MSSC + MSS + WA treatments than in the MSSC + MSS treatments. The assumption that WA reduces the accumulation of PTEs in willow leaves when applied together with MSSC and MSS was therefore only partially confirmed. The hypothesis of this study was that PTEs accumulated in the leaves would affect the microanatomical parameters of the leaves. Numerous positive changes were observed with the combined application of WS and WA. MSSC + MSS + WA treatment reduced the thickness of the mesophyll less than MSSC + MSS or WA treatments alone; the size of the cells building the palisade and spongy parenchyma and the extent of the main vein significantly increased. In the case of the combined treatment, the extent of the sclerenchymatous stock was smaller than in the control but larger than in WS- or WA-treated willow. The extent of the collenchymatous stock significantly increased compared to the control. Increases in the thickness of the adaxial epidermis and the number of stomata were statistically significant. However, the extent of the increases did not reach the extent of the increase experienced in the case of WS treatment, as the size of the stomata did not significantly decrease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Ecophysiology Under Anthropogenic and Natural Stresses)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop