Nitrogen Cycling and Microbial Community Shifts in Soil Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Soil ecosystems are fundamental to global nitrogen (N) biogeochemistry, a process largely governed by complex microbial communities. The intricate balance of N transformations—including nitrification, denitrification, nitrogen fixation, and ammonification—is highly sensitive to environmental perturbations. Anthropogenic activities such as climate change, land-use alteration, fertilizer application, and pollution are placing unprecedented pressures on these systems, leading to significant shifts in microbial community structure and function. These microbial shifts can fundamentally alter nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), modulate the emission of potent greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide (N₂O), and impact groundwater quality through nitrate leaching.

This Special Issue of Nitrogen, "Nitrogen Cycling and Microbial Community Shifts in Soil Ecosystems," aims to compile high-quality original research and review articles that explore the dynamic interplay between soil microbial communities and the nitrogen cycle under changing environmental conditions. We seek contributions that employ advanced molecular techniques (e.g., metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, proteomics), stable isotope probing, and integrative modeling to elucidate the mechanisms driving microbial responses and functional outcomes.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The impact of climate change factors (e.g., drought, warming, elevated CO₂) on N-cycling microbes and process rates.
• Effects of agricultural management practices (organic vs. conventional fertilization, crop rotation, tillage) on microbial guilds and N dynamics.
• Microbial drivers of N losses (leaching, volatilization, and denitrification) and mitigation strategies.
• The role of biotic interactions (plant–microbe, fauna–microbe, inter-microbial) in regulating N cycling.
• Successional patterns and resilience of microbial communities involved in N transformation following disturbance.
• Discovery of novel microbial taxa, enzymes, and metabolic pathways in the soil N cycle.

This Special Issue will enhance our predictive understanding of soil N cycling resilience and provide a scientific basis for developing sustainable ecosystem management strategies.

Dr. Hanqing Wu
Dr. Quan Zhang
Dr. Xiantao Fang
Dr. Haifei Chen
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 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. 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.

• the impact of climate change factors
• drought
• warming
• elevated CO₂
• N-cycling microbes, and process rates