The Unseen Half Under Stress: Roles of Root Along the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum

Dear Colleagues,

Roots are the plants primary exchange interface with the soil, determining access to moisture and nutrients. This hidden half contains a complex range of sensing and signaling mechanisms that interact with the shoot, facilitating both active and passive transport of water and mineral elements. Predicting the long-term consequence of environmental changes on plant species, communities and eco- and agri-systems requires improved understanding of root systems and their coordination with the canopy systems. Root observation tools and techniques have been improving over the past decades (e.g., phenotyping), facilitating our understandings on Root physiology, trait, function, property and/or behavior under various stresses. In this Research Topic, we welcome submissions of all article types published by MDPI Plants, including original research and reviews that dissect the root-related plant responses to variable stresses. We encourage contributions involving experiments conducted both in the field and under controlled environments, as well as the work involving modeling, experiment-model integration, and meta-analyses. Both fundamental and applied research are welcome, including studies on cultivated crops and agricultural systems. Quantitative studies that report responses of roots to biotic and/or abiotic stresses will be considered relevant if they advance our physiological understanding of these responses. Articles proposing novel practices to mitigate the negative effects of stress on plants are also within scope, provided they are supported by a hypothesized and at least partially demonstrated mechanism. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Root-soil-canopy interaction and management
• Root physiology, trait, function, property and/or behavior under stresses
• Interactions between above- and below-ground trait responses and coordinated mechanisms.
• Root and canopy signaling and/or trade-offs in the context of source-sink relationships and resource acquisition and investment strategies
• Root resilience to maintain or enhance plant functions under stress.
• Interactions among multiple biotic or abiotic stresses, or between biotic and biotic stresses, along the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum.
• Experiment and modelling integration

Dr. Shuang-Xi Zhou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• root physiology
• root trait
• root function
• root behavior
• climate change
• soil-plant-atmosphere continuum
• soil management
• stress resilience
• stress tolerance
• stress acclimation
• plant adaptation