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Plant-Soil Interaction Response to Global Change—2nd Edition
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Plant-Soil Interaction Response to Global Change—2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 3367

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chunwang Xiao

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Guest Editor
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: root turnover; root exudate; soil microbiology; priming effect; global change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Congcong Liu

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Guest Editor
Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: stomatal morphology; plant functional traits; functional diversity; community assembly
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wenchen Song

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, No. 27 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: root-microbial interaction; soil ecology; forest ecology; stable isotope; fungal ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant roots control nearly half of the carbon cycle of global terrestrial ecosystems and, in the recent decades, more and more attention has been paid to global climate  change; however, the research on plant root systems lags behind that on the aboveground parts of plants. At present, the study of plant–soil interactions are of interest to many research areas tackling global climate change, ranging from plant physiology to global ecology, and evolution. Soil organisms can influence the quality and availability of soil nutrients, which, in turn, affects plant performance and how plants respond to global climate change. On the other hand, plants can alter the composition of the soil rhizosphere through the production of litter and the release of root exudates, fueling plant–soil feedback loops, with potential consequences at different ecological levels. Such interactions occur not only in natural environments, but also in artificial environments, significantly affecting human life and driving current and future ecological methods and policies. The present topic on plant–soil interactions aims to create a representative and updated collection of research articles and reviews regarding the main processes that shape links between plants and the soil system and their response to environmental changes.

Prof. Dr. Chunwang Xiao
Dr. Congcong Liu
Dr. Wenchen Song
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. 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.

Keywords

  • roots
  • global change
  • soil ecology
  • rhizosphere
  • rhizo-microorganisms
  • biogeography

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2533 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Nitrogen Addition on Soil Carbon Components and Understory Vegetation in Moso Bamboo Forests
by Zhoubin Huang, Xiaotong Liu, Haoyu Chu, Hao Jia, Xianxian He, Canying Wang, Bing Zhang, Chuanxia Pan, Sufan Liu, Shaohui Fan and Wenhui Su
Plants 2025, 14(4), 569; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14040569 - 13 Feb 2025
Viewed by 571
Abstract
Moso bamboo forests are ecologically and economically important in China, but the effects of nitrogen addition on soil carbon dynamics and vegetation are underexplored. This study applied six nitrogen treatment levels in a monoculture Moso bamboo forest, collecting soil samples from 0 to [...] Read more.
Moso bamboo forests are ecologically and economically important in China, but the effects of nitrogen addition on soil carbon dynamics and vegetation are underexplored. This study applied six nitrogen treatment levels in a monoculture Moso bamboo forest, collecting soil samples from 0 to 30 cm depth and understory vegetation data. The results showed that nitrogen addition significantly reduced stable carbon components, while particulate organic carbon (POC) increased, suggesting that excessive nitrogen may destabilize the soil carbon pool by accelerating SOC decomposition or reducing accumulation. Vertical variations in soil carbon components were more significant in the 20–30 cm layer, indicating stronger impacts on deep SOC cycling. Nitrogen reshaped the community structure, notably affecting dominant species such as Viola davidii and Rubus buergeri. However, species diversity indices showed no significant changes, likely due to the vegetation’s high adaptability to nitrogen. Correlation analysis indicated that stable carbon components positively influenced vegetation diversity, while POC had a negative effect. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) explained 95.12% of the variance in the relationship between nitrogen, soil carbon components, and vegetation diversity. Nitrogen negatively affected soil carbon components but positively influenced vegetation diversity, while soil carbon components negatively impacted diversity. Nitrogen may promote certain carbon component accumulation but could weaken the forest’s carbon sink function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interaction Response to Global Change—2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 6395 KiB  
Article
Combined Impact of Canada Goldenrod Invasion and Soil Microplastic Contamination on Seed Germination and Root Development of Wheat: Evaluating the Legacy of Toxicity
by Guanlin Li, Yi Tang, Hongliang Xie, Babar Iqbal, Yanjiao Wang, Ke Dong, Xin Zhao, Hyun-Jun Kim, Daolin Du and Chunwang Xiao
Plants 2025, 14(2), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14020181 - 10 Jan 2025
Viewed by 813
Abstract
The concurrent environmental challenges of invasive species and soil microplastic contamination increasingly affect agricultural ecosystems, yet their combined effects remain underexplored. This study investigates the interactive impact of the legacy effects of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) invasion and soil microplastic contamination [...] Read more.
The concurrent environmental challenges of invasive species and soil microplastic contamination increasingly affect agricultural ecosystems, yet their combined effects remain underexplored. This study investigates the interactive impact of the legacy effects of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) invasion and soil microplastic contamination on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seed germination and root development. We measured wheat seed germination and root growth parameters by utilizing a controlled potted experiment with four treatments (control, S. canadensis legacy, microplastics, and combined treatment). The results revealed that the legacy effects of S. canadensis and microplastic contamination affected wheat seed germination. The effects of different treatments on wheat seedling properties generally followed an “individual treatment enhances, and combined treatment suppresses” pattern, except for root biomass. Specifically, the individual treatment promoted wheat seedling development. However, combined treatment significantly suppressed root development, decreasing total root length and surface area by 23.85% and 31.86%, respectively. These findings demonstrate that while individual treatments may promote root development, their combined effects are detrimental, indicating a complex interaction between these two environmental stressors. The study highlights the need for integrated soil management strategies to mitigate the combined impacts of invasive species and microplastic contamination on crop productivity and ecosystem health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interaction Response to Global Change—2nd Edition)
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21 pages, 2519 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Wheat Cultivation in Sandy Soils: Impact of Organic and Biofertilizer Use on Soil Health and Crop Yield
by Ibrahim El-Akhdar, Mahmoud M. A. Shabana, Nagwa M. M. El-Khateeb, Nevien Elhawat and Tarek Alshaal
Plants 2024, 13(22), 3156; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13223156 - 10 Nov 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1556
Abstract
Sandy soils are widespread globally and are increasingly utilized to meet the demands of a growing population and urbanization for food, fiber, energy, and other essential services. However, their poor water and nutrient retention makes crop cultivation challenging. This study evaluated the effects [...] Read more.
Sandy soils are widespread globally and are increasingly utilized to meet the demands of a growing population and urbanization for food, fiber, energy, and other essential services. However, their poor water and nutrient retention makes crop cultivation challenging. This study evaluated the effects of integrating compost and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR; Azospirillum brasilense SWERI 111 and Azotobacter chroococcum OR512393) on wheat (Triticum aestivum L. var. Misr 1) grown in sandy soil under varying levels of recommended NPK (50%, 75%, and 100%) fertilization. Conducted over two growing seasons, the experiment aimed to assess soil health, nutrient uptake, microbial activity, and plant productivity in response to compost and PGPR treatments. The results demonstrated that combining compost and PGPR significantly improved soil chemical properties, such as reducing soil pH, electrical conductivity (ECe), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), while enhancing soil organic matter (SOM). Additionally, compost and PGPR improved soil nutrient content (N, P, K) and boosted the total bacterial and fungal counts. The combined treatment also increased urease and phosphatase enzyme activities, contributing to enhanced nutrient availability. Notably, plant productivity was enhanced with compost and PGPR, reflected by increased chlorophyll and reduced proline content, along with improved grain and straw yields. Overall, the results underscore the potential of compost and PGPR as effective, sustainable soil amendments to support wheat growth under varying NPK levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interaction Response to Global Change—2nd Edition)
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