Nitrogen: Advances in Plant Stress Research, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the second edition of the Special Issue “Nitrogen: Advances in Plant Stress Research”, building on the first collection (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nitrogen/special_issues/4E65X383K6). The previous collection addressed the relationship between nitrogen and plant responses to challenging environmental conditions. This new edition aims to broaden this scope in response to increasing pressures associated with climate change, the growing demand for sustainable agricultural production, the need for effective strategies to improve plant stress mitigation and resilience, and the increasing relevance of this research field.

Plants are continuously exposed to a wide range of environmental conditions, some of which may impose significant constraints on growth and development, including drought, salinity, heat and cold stress, nutrient-related limitations, heavy metal contamination, excessive radiation, and oxidative stress. Across different plant systems, as well as agricultural and natural ecosystems, these stressors may occur individually or simultaneously and may interact with biotic pressures, further increasing the complexity of plant responses. Understanding how plants perceive, respond, and adapt to such conditions is essential for improving plant resilience and productivity.

Beyond the fundamental importance of nitrogen as an essential macronutrient, its availability and metabolism are closely associated with plant growth, energy balance, and primary and secondary metabolism, and stress responses. Changes in nitrogen uptake, assimilation, transport, remobilization, and utilization can substantially influence plant performance under adverse conditions. Conversely, environmental stresses can profoundly affect nitrogen metabolism and nitrogen-use efficiency.

This Special Issue welcomes studies investigating the interplay between nitrogen dynamics and plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Contributions addressing physiological, biochemical, molecular, genetic, cellular, and other mechanisms associated with nitrogen metabolism and stress adaptation are particularly encouraged. Research on nitrogen management strategies, exogenous nitrogen application, nitrogen-use efficiency, and approaches aimed at enhancing plant resilience under stressful environments are also welcome.

Studies examining individual stressors or interactions among multiple stressors are encouraged, as are investigations into the role of beneficial plant-associated organisms, including mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms. Contributions employing emerging technologies, multiomics, integrative approaches and other advanced methodologies are also a priority.

The Special Issue is open to research involving crops, model species, and other plant systems. Original research articles, reviews, perspectives, opinions, and communications addressing the relationship between nitrogen research and plant stress biology are encouraged. Contributions connecting fundamental discoveries with practical strategies for sustainable crop production are particularly appreciated. More broadly, the Special Issue welcomes a wide range of topics related to nitrogen research in the context of plant stress, from fundamental and relevant aspects of nitrogen metabolism to other nitrogen-related processes involved in plant adaptation, stress mitigation, and resilience.

By bringing together research from different areas of plant science, this second edition aims to advance our understanding of how nitrogen-related processes influence plant responses to increasingly challenging environmental conditions and may contribute to more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems.

I look forward to receiving your contributions and to further advancing research at the interface of nitrogen biology and plant stress responses.

Dr. Deyvid Novaes Marques
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 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. Nitrogen is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1200 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.