Soil Environment Under Climate Change: Effects on Plant Growth—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, many studies have focused on safeguarding the soil resources that form the basis of plant growth and development. On the other hand, climate change is rapidly causing soil degradation. It has deleterious effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and biodiversity, which is closely interconnected with the production of food and energy, the protection and security of water supply and wild habitats, and a wide range of other ecosystem services related to soil. It is important to remember that climate change has an important impact on plant growth and our existence. Thus, safeguarding natural and cultivated soils in a climate change scenario represents a strategic challenge for the future achievement of the 17th Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all 193 Member States of the United Nations. Wild plants and crops are at risk due to increasingly adverse abiotic and biotic factors. Furthermore, climate change can potentially decrease the effectiveness of plant defensive mechanisms and increase the risk of diseases through growth and physiology alteration of the host plant. Under such a changing scenario, this Special Issue aims to communicate the main scientific evidence and the best strategies for safeguarding soils and plants threatened by climate change, highlighting, in particular, their economic and social impacts. Original research and review papers are welcome. A rigorous peer review procedure aiming to rapidly disseminate the research results will select papers chosen for publication.

Key topics in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Soil biodiversity;
• Sustainable agricultural practices;
• Breeding, germplasm conservation, and cryopreservation;
• Soil biological activity;
• Soil organic matter;
• Effect of climate changes on plant productivity and soil biodiversity;
• Plant–soil-microorganisms crosstalk;
• Innovative agricultural technologies.

Dr. Adriano Sofo
Guest Editor

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-anonymized 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.