Plant, Soil, and Microbial Interactions Under Climate Change: Responses, Consequences, and Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Plant–soil–microbial interactions, consisting of biological, physical, and chemical processes that occur at the interface between plant roots and soil, are significantly affected by climate change. These interactions are fundamental for nutrient cycling, plant productivity, and ecosystem stability, and they involve complex mechanisms that facilitate relationships between plants and soil microorganisms. These mechanisms imply signalling molecules, released by both plants and microbes, that active physiological responses able to modulate the plant growth and development, to activate defence responses, and to promote symbiotic relationships. Through complex physiological mechanisms involving plant growth-promoting molecules or by stimulating systemic resistance mechanisms such as systemic acquired resistance (SAR) or induced systemic resistance (ISR) through the production of active compounds, among those VOCs, the soil microbes promote growth and development of plants and confer them tolerance to environmental stress (i.e., salinity, drought, pests, etc.). Plant–microorganism interactions play also a critical role in promoting soil stability through an increased soil aggregation and stabilization that promote soil resilience. All this occurs through the secretion of substances that facilitate the aggregation of soil particles, thus forming stable aggregates that improve soil structure and in turn their water holding.

Climate change significantly affects the complex plant–soil–microbial interactions. Changes in temperature and precipitation directly impact soil microbial communities, affecting their structure and composition and, in turn, activities. On the end of the spectrum, plant physiology is also altered under climate change, and this might modify the signalling pathways with the microbial communities in the rhizosphere. Climate change-induced shifts in these interactions alter nutrient cycling, soil health, and ecosystem stability impacting ecosystem resilience. 

This Special Issue aims to explore the complex dynamics between plants, soil, and microbes as well as the consequences of climate change on these interactions, filling knowledge gaps, proposing new concepts, and making recommendations to guide future research. A full understanding of plant–soil–microbe relationships will aid in developing management and policy tools to improve the ecosystems’ resilience.

The Special Issue topic will cover, but is not restricted to, the following subjects:

• Rhizospheric soil, plant, and microbial interactions.
• Soil structure.
• Soil water availability and distribution.
• Soil nutrient concentration and availability.
• Rhizosphere microbiome.
• Mechanisms of soil, plant, and microbe interactions, including signalling compounds and biological nitrification inhibitors.
• Beneficial microbes-induced plants’ resilience to environmental stress, including abiotic and biotic factors.
• Recommendations for improving ecosystems’ resilience to climate change.

Dr. Luca Vitale
Dr. Anna Tedeschi
Dr. Francisco Garcia-Sanchez
Guest Editors

Dr. Fatma Wassar
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.

• rhizosphere
• soil ecology
• soil conservation
• plant physiology
• signalling compounds
• soil resilience
• beneficial microbes
• climate change