Soil-Microbe Interactions and Nutrient Transformation in Forests
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 39
Special Issue Editor
Interests: soil microbiology and ecology; forest soil microbiomes; environmental microbiology and bioremediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soils in forest ecosystems are dynamic and biologically active environments where complex interactions between microorganisms and soil constituents drive critical ecological processes. These soil–microbe interactions and nutrient transformations are central to forest productivity, carbon storage, biodiversity maintenance and long-term ecosystem stability. Soil microorganisms play diverse functional roles in organic matter decomposition, mineralization, nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus solubilization. In particular, mycorrhizal fungi form mutualistic associations with forest trees, significantly enhancing nutrient uptake and facilitating access to otherwise unavailable nutrient pools in the soil.
This Special Issue will investigate the structure and function of soil microbial communities involved in nutrient cycling within forest ecosystems, with particular emphasis on their ecological roles, environmental drivers, and implications for forest health and resilience.
The following topics represent a selection of possible research directions:
- Microbial Ecology and Diversity;
- Influence of Tree Species Composition on Soil Microbial Communities and Nutrient Availability;
- Ectomycorrhizal vs. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Forest Nutrient Acquisition;
- Nutrient Cycles and Transformation Processes;
- Forest Management and Soil Microbiota;
- Climate Change and Forest Soil Microbes;
- Application of Enzyme Activity Assays for Assessing Soil Nutrient Transformation Rates;
- Effect of Microplastic Contamination on Soil Microbial Nutrient Cycling in Forest Soils.
Prof. Dr. Aurelia Onet
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. Forests 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
- soil–microbe interactions
- forest soil microbiome
- nutrient cycling
- microbial ecology
- rizosphere dynamics
- forest ecosystems
- soil microbial communities
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