Mineral Nutrition in Plant Development and Stress Response

Dear Colleagues,

Mineral nutrition is a central determinant of plant development, productivity, and resilience across both natural and agricultural systems, and essential macro- and micronutrients regulate key physiological and biochemical processes, including photosynthesis, respiration, membrane stability, osmotic regulation, redox homeostasis, and enzymatic activity, thereby guiding plant growth from germination to senescence. Increasing attention is also being directed towards beneficial and trace elements that, while not strictly required for completion of the life cycle, can enhance stress tolerance, metabolic efficiency, and overall plant performance. However, the distinction between beneficial and toxic effects remains dose-dependent and context-specific, reflecting the dual nature of mineral exposure under which an element may be advantageous or harmful depending on its concentration, chemical speciation, plant developmental stage, genotype, pathogenic status, and environmental conditions.

Global environmental change further elevates the importance of mineral nutrition research, with soil degradation, salinisation, erosion, acidification, nutrient–nutrient interactions, and contamination by heavy metals and emerging pollutants reshaping nutrient availability and uptake dynamics. Concurrently, altered hydrological regimes, restrictions in irrigation water quality, and climate change-driven stressors such as drought, salinity, flooding, heat, cold, and elevated vapour pressure deficits interact strongly with ion homeostasis, nutrient–water relations, and metabolic reprogramming. These multifaceted interactions influence plant resistance and adaptation to both abiotic and biotic stressors, with direct implications for crop yield stability, nutritional quality, food safety, and ecosystem sustainability. Developing integrative and predictive frameworks in mineral nutrition is therefore crucial for resilient, resource-efficient, and sustainable crop production.

The roles played by the rhizosphere and plant-associated microbiomes in mineral acquisition and stress resilience are emerging as a rapidly expanding frontier in the study of plant development. Symbioses with mycorrhizal fungi, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and other plant growth-promoting microorganisms enhance nutrient mobilisation, uptake, and internal allocation through mechanisms such as phosphate solubilisation, siderophore-mediated metal chelation, biological nitrogen fixation, hormonal modulation, and modifications to rhizosphere pH and redox status. In turn, root exudation, mucilage release, and broader rhizosphere engineering shape microbial community assembly and nutrient cycling, resulting in beneficial feedbacks that can be exploited for low-input and climate-smart agriculture.

Advances in plant breeding, biotechnology, and precision fertilisation, including fertigation, are increasingly complemented by sustainable management strategies aimed at improving nutrient use efficiency and environmental resilience. These approaches include soil and rhizosphere interventions, such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, organic amendments, compost, biochar and hydrochar applications, circular nutrient inputs from waste streams, and oxidative irrigation-water treatments (e.g., ozonated irrigation), all of which influence nutrient availability, microbial interactions, and plant physiological responses under stress. In parallel, emerging sensing and phenotyping technologies—including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, proximal and hyperspectral platforms, in situ soil and sap sensors, and ion-selective or lab‑on‑chip systems—are enabling high-resolution monitoring of plant nutritional status. Combined with machine learning, mechanistic modelling, and multi-omics, these tools are transforming diagnostics and data-driven nutrient management from controlled environments to open-field agriculture.

This Special Issue aims to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary perspective on “Mineral Nutrition in Plant Development and Stress Response”. Contributions are welcomed on (i) physiological, molecular, and biochemical mechanisms of macro-, micro-, beneficial, and trace elements; (ii) ion transport, sensing, signalling, and homeostasis under optimal and stressful conditions; (iii) interactions between mineral nutrition, water relations, redox regulation, and metabolism; (iv) nutrient-mediated modulation of tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses; (v) toxic elements, heavy metals, emerging contaminants, and bioremediation; (vi) plant–microbe interactions and rhizosphere processes; (vii) breeding, biotechnology, gene editing, and smart-sensing strategies; and (viii) innovative fertilisers, biofortification, fertigation, foliar nutrition, and soil management approaches for sustainable agriculture.

By integrating knowledge from cellular regulation and whole-plant physiology to digital agriculture and field management, this Special Issue seeks to advance conceptual understanding and contribute practical solutions that support resilient agri‑food systems under accelerating global change.

Dr. Juan de Dios Franco-Navarro
Dr. María del Rosario Álvarez Morales
Dr. Procopio Peinado-Torrubia
Dr. José Ramón Acosta Motos
Guest Editors

Dr. Marta Lucas
Guest Editor Assistant

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• mineral nutrition
• nutrient uptake efficiency
• ion transport and homeostasis
• abiotic and biotic stress tolerance
• beneficial and toxic elements
• heavy metals and bioremediation
• nutrient–water relations
• fertilization and fertigation strategies
• smart plant-sensing technologies
• climate change and sustainable agriculture