Understory Plant–Soil Carbon Coupling in Agroforestry Systems
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 279
Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As global agroforestry expands to meet climate mitigation and food security goals, the understory vegetation layer—encompassing medicinal plants, mushroom cultivation beds, and strategic cover crops—has emerged as a critical yet understudied driver of soil carbon dynamics. Unlike traditional monocultures, these multi-strata systems create unique plant–soil interfaces where belowground carbon processes are tightly regulated by the specific functional traits of understory species. These include root exudation chemistry, mycorrhizal association strategies, and the stoichiometric quality of litter.
This Special Issue invites contributions that explore the multi-dimensional coupling between understory vegetation and soil carbon processes across diverse agroforestry systems. We welcome the submission of research investigating how distinct plant functional groups—ranging from nitrogen-fixing legumes and deep-rooted cover crops to medicinal herbs and edible fungi—modulate soil carbon inputs via root exudation, rhizodeposition, and litterfall quality. Studies elucidating the mechanistic pathways of carbon stabilization are particularly encouraged, including physical protection within soil aggregates, chemical recalcitrance of plant-derived compounds, and microbial carbon use efficiency driven by the assembly of fungal–bacterial communities. We also encourage integrative work across spatial scales, from rhizosphere microhotspots to ecosystem-level carbon budgeting, and across climatic gradients, including subtropical, temperate, and tropical agroforestry plantations. Contributions employing isotope tracing, metabolomics, high-throughput sequencing, long-term chromosequence approaches, or models of carbon sequestration in the soil with Century or RhotC, deciphering carbon flow from plant traits to persistent soil pools, are highly valued. By synthesizing perspectives from plant ecophysiology, soil microbiology, and ecosystem ecology, this collection aims to advance evidence-based management strategies that enhance belowground carbon sequestration while sustaining the productive capacity of multi-strata cultivation systems.
Prof. Dr. Jiasen Wu
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- agroforestry systems
- understory vegetation
- rhizosphere processes
- soil carbon stabilization
- microbial carbon use efficiency
- root functional traits
- mycorrhizal networks
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