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Agronomy
Special Issues
Linking Soil Microbial Functional Diversity with Agroecosystem Sustainability
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Linking Soil Microbial Functional Diversity with Agroecosystem Sustainability

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Agroecology Innovation: Achieving System Resilience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 1084

Editors

Prof. Dr. Chaoqun Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, China
Interests: biogeochemistry; carbon and energy flows; microbial diversity and function; rhizosphere processes; soil-plant-microbial interactions; soil organic matter formation and transformation
Dr. Maxim Dorodnikov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
Interests: climate change; element cycling; greenhouse gas turnover; soil biogeochemistry; soil microbiology; soil organic matter dynamics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil microbiomes play critical roles in maintaining agroecosystem sustainability and microbial diversity, together with functionality, is a strong driving force of the biogeochemical processes that determine the sustainability of agricultural production. Advances in molecular techniques and assays have enabled researchers to delve deeper into microbial functional diversity, providing insights into how these communities contribute to the resilience and productivity of agroecosystems. This Special Issue aims, therefore, to explore the intricate connections between soil microbial functional diversity and various dimensions of agroecosystem sustainability, including soil health, crop yield, and environmental resilience. The contributions herein will highlight the mechanisms by which microbial functional diversity mediates ecosystem services, guides management practices, and enhances agroecological resilience to climate change and anthropogenic stresses. As we face the challenges of global food security and soil degradation, linking soil microbial diversity with sustainable agricultural practices emerges as a vital pathway toward fostering resilient and productive landscapes. This Special Issue welcomes all types of articles focusing on microbial functional diversity in the soils of different cropping systems, including, but not limited to original research and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Chaoqun Wang
Dr. Maxim Dorodnikov
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 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-anonymized 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 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

  • agricultural sustainability
  • agronomy practices
  • microbial community
  • microbial functionality
  • nutrient cycling
  • soil health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 9345 KB  
Article
Applying Biochar to Calcareous Soil Promotes Maize Growth and Reduces Soil N2O Emissions by Enhancing Mycorrhizal Symbiosis
by Yanfang Wang, Jinzhao Liu, Chunfeng Xie, Feixue Yue, Aneela Younas, Muhammad Shaaban and Ling Liu
Agronomy 2026, 16(11), 1070; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16111070 - 29 May 2026
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Abstract
The effects of biochar on soil N2O emissions remain contentious, and the microbiological processes involved are not yet fully understood. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, key players in soil nitrogen (N) cycling, may mediate the impact of biochar on plant N uptake [...] Read more.
The effects of biochar on soil N2O emissions remain contentious, and the microbiological processes involved are not yet fully understood. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, key players in soil nitrogen (N) cycling, may mediate the impact of biochar on plant N uptake and N2O emissions, but this interaction remains unclear. This study involved a two-year field experiment to examine how varying biochar application rates affect soil microbial communities, particularly AM fungi at rainfed maize (Zea mays L.) farmland, and to assess how AM fungi influence soil N2O emissions and maize growth under biochar addition with two AM fungi treatments (with and without suppression of native AM fungi). The results revealed that biochar significantly enhanced soil microbial diversity, especially the variety and richness of AM fungi. Biochar addition improved soil physicochemical parameters, including soil water content, bulk density, and inorganic N availability. Biochar also decreased AOA and AOB gene abundances, increased AM fungal gene abundances, lowered (nirK + nirS)/nosZ ratio, and reduced soil N2O emissions. Suppression of native AM fungi increased N2O emissions throughout the rainfed maize growing period, accompanied by a higher (nirK + nirS)/nosZ ratio. Biochar addition combined with non-suppressed AM fungi promoted maize growth, with the highest yield observed at 20 t ha−1 biochar. Overall, biochar decreased N2O emissions and strengthened the performance of AM fungi in rainfed maize farmland, highlighting the vital role of AM fungi s in soil N cycling under biochar addition. This study offers a scientific basis for using biochar in reducing N2O emissions and increasing crop yield in dry farmland. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Soil Microbial Functional Diversity with Agroecosystem Sustainability)
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19 pages, 11668 KB  
Article
Identifying the Key Drivers of Changes in the Morphological Traits of Ledum palustre, Rhizosphere Soil Physicochemical Properties, and Microbial Community Structure Along a Fire Chronosequence in the Da Xing’an Mountains of Northeastern China
by Yurong Liang, Tuo Li, Huiying Cai, Qingpeng Liu, Hu Lou and Long Sun
Agronomy 2026, 16(9), 846; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16090846 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 463
Abstract
Ledum palustre (L. palustre) is widely used in drug development because of its antibacterial and analgesic effects. However, wild L. palustre is often affected by wildfires, resulting in unstable yields. Forest fires represent a major disturbance in northern forest ecosystems and [...] Read more.
Ledum palustre (L. palustre) is widely used in drug development because of its antibacterial and analgesic effects. However, wild L. palustre is often affected by wildfires, resulting in unstable yields. Forest fires represent a major disturbance in northern forest ecosystems and profoundly affect shrub vegetation and its associated rhizosphere microbial communities. In this study, we investigated a fire chronosequence (1991, 2004, 2012, 2017, and 2020) to systematically examine the morphological traits of L. palustre, rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties, and microbial community characteristics and to identify the key drivers underlying these patterns. The results revealed that postfire recovery time significantly influenced the morphological traits of L. palustre. The biomass, branch number, basal diameter, and plant height of the shrubs at the 1991 burned site increased by 270.49%, 36.11%, 79.32%, and 191.36%, respectively (p < 0.05). From unburned soils, 29 bacterial and 29 fungal isolates were obtained, with Bacillus sp. and Oidiodendron sp. being the dominant culturable bacterial and fungal taxa, respectively. With increasing postfire recovery time, soil moisture, total nitrogen, ammonium, nitrate, soil organic carbon, acid phosphatase (AP) and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity significantly decreased. Early fire disturbance markedly altered soil microbial abundance and community composition, leading to an overall decrease in bacterial α diversity. The bacterial community structure at the 2020 burn site and the fungal community structure at the 2012 burn site significantly differed. Mantel tests revealed significant positive correlations between branch number and basal diameter (p < 0.01) and significant negative correlations between plant height and stem density (p < 0.001). Soil carbon and hydrolysable nitrogen were significantly positively correlated with AP and NAG activities (p < 0.001). Moreover, soil physicochemical properties significantly shaped soil microbial community structures, with bacterial communities in early postfire sites driven by total carbon and nitrogen (p < 0.05), whereas fungal communities in the 2012 burned site were influenced primarily by β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (BG) activity (p < 0.05). Fire disturbance drives successional changes in the rhizosphere microbial community structure and function by altering the soil nutrient status and enzyme activity, which in turn influences the morphological traits of L. palustre. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the yield of L. palustre by exploring the variation in rhizosphere microorganisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Linking Soil Microbial Functional Diversity with Agroecosystem Sustainability)
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