The 15th Anniversary of Minerals: Soil Minerals-Organic Carbon Interface Reaction
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 52
Editors
Interests: environmental mineralogy and soil chemistry; interface reaction; organic phosphorus
Interests: environmental mineralogy; soil chemistry; cultivated land quality protection and improvement; soil pollution control and remediation; ecological restoration of mining areas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: clay minerals; diatomite; diatom biogenetic silica; surface properties and structure of minerals; interface reaction; solid acidity of minerals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool, and its stability is fundamentally governed by interactions at the mineral–organic carbon (OC) interface. Mineral phases such as iron/aluminum (oxyhydr)oxides, phyllosilicates, and short-range-order minerals act as critical “geobatteries” and "rusty sinks" for carbon, binding organic molecules through adsorption, coprecipitation, and aggregation. These interfacial reactions not only control the persistence of SOC against microbial decomposition but also profoundly affect soil structural stability, nutrient cycling, and the fate of pollutants. However, the molecular mechanisms of selective carbon preservation, the role of reactive mineral species under redox fluctuations, and the potential of mineral–OC complexation in climate change mitigation remain major challenges in soil science and environmental geochemistry.
This Special Issue aims to present the latest advances in soil mineral–organic carbon interfacial processes, bridging classical soil chemistry, modern spectroscopy, and ecosystem function. We invite contributions that explore the co-evolution of soil minerals and organic carbon, the protective mechanisms of mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM), and the feedbacks between mineral–OC interactions and global environmental changes.
The scope includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: (1) mechanisms of organic carbon sorption, complexation, and precipitation on/with soil minerals (e.g., Fe/Al oxides, clay minerals, and Mn oxides); (2) role of mineral–OC interfaces in soil carbon sequestration, stabilization, and priming effects; (3) effects of redox dynamics, metal cations, and environmental factors (e.g., pH, ionic strength, and temperature) on mineral–OC binding; (4) advanced characterization techniques (e.g., synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy, high-resolution microscopy, and NMR) for probing mineral–OC interfaces; (5) coupled biogeochemical cycles (C, N, P, and Fe) at mineral–OC interfaces; and (6) implications for soil health, agricultural carbon farming, and remediation of contaminated soils via mineral–OC interactions.
Dr. Yupeng Yan
Dr. Qin Zhang
Dr. Dong Liu
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. Minerals 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 2400 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 minerals–organic carbon interfaces
- soil carbon sequestration
- soil organic matter
- interface reaction
- molecular mechanisms
- biogeochemical cycles of carbon
- redox reactions
- organo-mineral complexes
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