Sustainable Soil Improvement for Crop Production
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Physiology and Crop Production".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 13
Special Issue Editors
Interests: soil pollution remediation; soil pollution control; remediation techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil is a living and dynamic system that underpins global food production and ecosystem stability. However, intensive agricultural practices, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, and climate change have accelerated soil degradation, nutrient imbalance, and loss of organic carbon. Developing sustainable soil improvement strategies is therefore critical for maintaining soil fertility and supporting resilient crop production systems.
This Special Issue aims to highlight the recent advances and innovative practices related to the enhancement of soil health in a sustainable manner. Topics of interest include organic amendments, biochar and compost applications, microbial inoculants, green manures, and conservation tillage. Studies exploring the mechanisms of soil–plant–microbe interactions, carbon and nutrient cycling, and the evolution of soil structure under different management practices are especially welcome.
We encourage the submission of original research, reviews, and modeling studies that integrate physical, chemical, and biological perspectives. By providing a multidisciplinary platform, this Special Issue seeks to advance our understanding of how sustainable soil management can restore soil functions, improve crop yield and quality, and contribute to long-term agroecosystem sustainability.
Dr. Beini Gong
Dr. Lijuan Xie
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 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-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
- soil fertility
- sustainable soil improvement
- crop production
- soil amendment
- soil–plant–microbe interactions
- agricultural practices
- carbon and nutrient cycling
- agroecosystem sustainability
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