Soil Microbial Ecology in Forest Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Forest ecosystems are the largest global carbon sinks, with the potential to regulate global changes. Soil microbes mediate the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, macro- and micro-nutrients that are vital for life on our planet. Therefore, understanding the structure and functions of the soil microbial community in forests is of significance for ecosystem carbon storage and nutrient dynamics. In the context of global changes and disturbances (e.g., warming, CO₂ increase, drought, wildfire, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition), the responses of soil microbes to these changes are complex in forests, largely depending on geographical location, forest type, climate, soil lithology and the performance of specific microbes. Although some of the global changes or disturbances may weaken forest resilience and trigger adverse effects on forest health, carbon storage and nutrient turnover, soil microbes have the potential to protect forests from the external stresses via plant–microbe interactions. In-depth understanding of the key belowground processes in forests is essential to increase the accuracy of terrestrial biogeochemical models.

In this Special Issue, we encourage papers presenting empirical data that address fundamental knowledge gaps in soil microbial ecology in forest ecosystems. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Biogeographical patterns and underlying mechanisms of soil microbes in forest ecosystems;
• Temporal evolution of soil microbial community during forest succession;
• Responses of soil microbes to climate changes, land management and disturbances;
• Microbial nutrient limitation in forest soils;
• Microbe-induced carbon dynamics in forest soils;
• Microbial role and regulation in nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems;
• Interactions of plant and microbes on soil functions;
• Predicting microbe-induced dynamics of soil carbon and nutrients using biogeochemical models.

Dr. Haijian Bing
Dr. Wenqiang Zhao
Prof. Dr. Linchuan Fang
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-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.