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Biology
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Young Researchers in Plant Sciences
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Young Researchers in Plant Sciences

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1028

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Luigi De Bellis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DiSTeBA), Salento University, Lecce, Italy
Interests: plant physiology; horticulture; biodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue, we aim to feature the early-career researchers in the field of plant science. The senior authors of the contributions should be a) the first or last author in addition to the corresponding author and b) either within 10 years of completing their PhD (or equivalent) or an assistant professor/on tenure track. We invite submissions from diverse research fields, including topics dealing with the whole range of structural (from subcellular compartments to ecosystems), biochemical (atoms to supramolecules), functional (wild types to transgenics and CASPR/Cas-altered) and interactive levels (with other plants, microorganisms, animals, and humans). Manuscripts of the mechanistic nature are particularly welcome as opposed to descriptive ones. Articles submitted for this Special Issue should meet all standard requirements of individual Biology articles (regarding quality, novelty, and significance) and be relevant to a broad international and interdisciplinary readership.

Authors featured in this Special Issue will have the opportunity to be nominated for next year's Young Investigator Award. They will receive a cash prize and and a subsequent free publication of an article in Biology. In addition, a few free APCs are available for the best scholars who will contribute to this special issue; requests accompanied by manuscript title, authors and abstracts, should be sent to .

Prof. Dr. Luigi De Bellis
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. Biology 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 2700 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

  • biodiversity
  • biogeography
  • biotic and abiotic stress responses
  • carbon sequestration
  • ecosystem functions
  • gene–function relationships
  • photosynthesis
  • phytohormones
  • phytoremediation
  • plant interactions with viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals
  • primary and secondary metabolism
  • seed development
  • signalling pathways
  • structure–function simulation modelling

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 1978 KiB  
Article
How to Define Spacing Among Forest Trees to Mitigate Competition: A Technical Note
by Khodabakhsh Zabihi, Vivek Vikram Singh, Aleksei Trubin, Nataliya Korolyova and Rastislav Jakuš
Biology 2025, 14(3), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14030296 - 15 Mar 2025
Viewed by 594
Abstract
Establishing an optimum range of inter-species spacing that reduces competition among trees and mitigates the effects of drought is a critical yet complex challenge in forest management. Stand density plays a crucial role in forest functioning by regulating resource allocation within individual trees. [...] Read more.
Establishing an optimum range of inter-species spacing that reduces competition among trees and mitigates the effects of drought is a critical yet complex challenge in forest management. Stand density plays a crucial role in forest functioning by regulating resource allocation within individual trees. Higher stand densities have been shown to reduce sap velocities, indicating intensified competition for water and other resources. However, determining the precise spacing that minimizes competition while maintaining ecosystem balance remains unclear. In this study, conducted in temperate Norway spruce forests at an altitude range of 400–500 m in the Czech Republic, we propose a novel technique to define tree spacing that reduces competitive interactions. We used xylem sap flow residuals of an ordinary least square (OLS) regression model to filter out the effects of elevation and diameter at breast height (DBH) on field-measured sap flow for 101 planted Norway spruce trees with a DBH range of 40 ± 5 cm (≈90–100 years old). The model residuals allowed us to account for the most important driver of sap flow variability: tree density and its underlying effects on individual tree traits. To minimize the confounding effects of temporal and spatial variability, we used twelve consecutive daily measurements of sap flow (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) taken at the start of the growing season. By constructing an experimental variogram, we quantified sap flow variability as a function of tree spacing. The results showed a steady sap flow pattern at tree densities of 12, 11, and 10 trees per 314 m2 (equivalent to 350 ± 32 trees per hectare), corresponding to inter-tree spacing measurements of 5.12 m, 5.34 m, and 5.60 m, respectively. These findings suggest that when the N number of trees (median) per unit area (A) is in equilibrium with resource availability, increasing or decreasing the n number of trees may not significantly change competition levels (A; f(A) = N ± n). The size or deviation of n depends on the area to define the minimum and maximum thresholds or tolerance capacity for the number of trees allowed to be in the area. This technique—using a variogram of sap flow residuals to determine tree spacing—can be periodically applied, such as every 10–15 years, and adapted for different elevation gradients (e.g., within 100 m intervals). It offers a practical tool for forest managers and policymakers, guiding thinning and planting strategies to enhance forest resilience in the face of water-stress conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Young Researchers in Plant Sciences)
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