Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 4640

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jing Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: sustainable soil health; soil phosphorous; green manure; paddy soil

Dr. Kailou Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Jiangxi Institute of Red Soil and Germplasm Resources, Nanchang, China
Interests: sustainable crop nutrient management; soil acidification improvement; soil fertility evaluation

Dr. Tianfu Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Interests: sustainable soil fertility patterns; crop nutrient management; soil acidification improvement; soil health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For sustainable agricultural production, soil microorganisms are abundant in number and rich in communities, and they are closely related to soil nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients. Moreover, be aimed at sustainable crop production, the interaction on soil microorganisms and soil health in arable land was key frontiers due to soil microorganisms significantly affect the soil health and sustainable use of arable land. Therefore, soil scientists around the world are increasingly interested in the study of soil microorganisms. However, since arable land is mainly used for agricultural production, the role of soil microorganisms and soil health status in improving arable land productivity has been ignored. At present, the contribution and influence of soil microorganisms on soil health is still unclear, especially in sustainable crop production. Therefore, in order to better highlight the role of soil microorganisms in serving soil health and coordinated improvement of arable land productivity, and to focus on the latest research progress in soil microorganisms, soil health and arable land productivity improvement, the special issue titled “Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land” is organized by Sustainability. This special issue will focus on the mechanism of soil microorganisms in soil health cultivation and sustainable crop productivity improvement, as well as the new principles, technologies and models of how to regulate soil health and coordinated improvement of arable land productivity through soil microorganisms, with the goal of coordinated improvement of soil health and sustainable productivity in arable land.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

The mechanism of soil microorganisms in the coordinated improvement of soil health and sustainable productivity in arable land;
The screening methods and applications of soil microorganism-related indicators in soil health assessment under sustainable crop production;
How exogenous inputs (inoculates, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) affect soil health and the coordinated improvement of sustainable land productivity through soil microorganisms;
New technologies and new models for the coordinated improvement of soil health and sustainable productivity in arable land through the regulation of soil microorganisms.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jing Huang
Dr. Kailou Liu
Dr. Tianfu Han
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

sustainable crop production
arable land
soil microorganism
soil health
fertilization management for sustainable agriculture
planting technology
microbial community structure
meta-genomics
microbial activities
microbial abundance

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 1648 KB

Open AccessArticle

Soil Microbial Responses to Starch-g-poly(acrylic acid) Copolymers Addition

by Katarzyna Sroka and Paweł Sroka

Sustainability 2026, 18(3), 1498; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031498 - 2 Feb 2026

Viewed by 430

Abstract

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are materials that can absorb and retain water solutions with a mass of several hundred times greater than their own. This work aimed to synthesise and evaluate the effects of highly absorbent starch phosphate-g-poly(acrylic acid) copolymers on the microbiological activity of soils previously used for agriculture. The biopolymers studied were obtained by thermal and chemical oxidation of starch phosphates and copolymerized with potassium salts of acrylic acid. Basic physicochemical parameters were determined in the applied soil. Following SAP application, the basal respiration rate was measured at 22 °C with a constant soil moisture content of 60% WHC. The incubation time in constant temperature and moisture conditions was 78 days. After this period, their microbiological activity (microbial and organic phosphorus fractions) was assessed, thereby enabling the determination of the direction of change in the soil environment. The addition of SAP increases the soil’s water-holding capacity and respiration. The SP-g-PAA polymers serve as slow-release sources of potassium and phosphorus ions. These elements were bound to the polymer network by ionic and covalent bonds. Analysis of the results shows that within two weeks, 47–80% of the starch hydrogel undergoes microbial degradation. No differences were found in the content of labile forms of phosphorus in soils with SAP additions compared to soils without polymer additions. The use of modified starch reduces the consumption of vinyl monomers, while the resulting product is characterised by high absorbency and low water content, which reduces the amount of energy needed to obtain the finished product, thus contributing to sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

40 pages, 13484 KB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial and Economic Differentiation of Land Use for Organic Farming in the European Union

by Adam Pawlewicz and Katarzyna Pawlewicz

Sustainability 2026, 18(3), 1454; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18031454 - 1 Feb 2026

Viewed by 798

Abstract

This study investigates the spatial and economic differentiation of organic farming across the European Union by analyzing regional specialization patterns using Location Quotients (LQ). The results reveal a highly heterogeneous landscape shaped by the interaction of agro-ecological conditions, production traditions, market development, and structural characteristics of national agricultural systems. Six distinct regional models of organic farming are identified: the Nordic–Baltic cereal–forage model, the Alpine–Central European grassland model, the Mediterranean permanent-crop model, the Central–Eastern European raw-material model, the Western European intensive horticultural model, and the island-based niche-specialization model. Regression analyses show that overall organic specialization is strongly associated with market development, whereas the structure of organic crop production is primarily determined by agro-ecological and structural factors rather than consumer demand or purchasing power. These findings highlight the strong embeddedness of organic farming within long-term regional development pathways and underscore the need for regionally differentiated policy instruments within the Common Agricultural Policy. Effective support measures should be tailored to dominant crop types, production systems, and comparative advantages across Member States. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1034 KB

Open AccessArticle

Hermetia illucens L. Frass in Promoting Soil Fertility in Farming Systems

by Regina Menino, Catarina Esteves, Paula Fareleira, Raquel Mano, Joana Antunes, Iryna Rehan, Daniel Murta and Olga Moreira

Sustainability 2025, 17(24), 11058; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411058 - 10 Dec 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 701

Abstract

Following a pot trial with annual ryegrass (Lollium multiflorum Lam. (Pooideae: Poaceae)), where the effect of chemical fertilization was compared with organic fertilization with Black Soldier Fly larvae frass (BSFF), obtained by bio-digestion of cattle production effluents, and with mixed fertilization in proportions of 25%, 50%, and 75% of BSFF, the effect on crop production and soil fertility was tested in three soils of different textures, namely, sandy soil (Gleyic podzol), calcareous soil (Haplic calcisol), and clay soil (Haplic fluvisol). On top of the previous experimental device, a second year of testing was carried out with sowing of the same crop, but without any fertilizer input in all the residual soils for the different further modalities. With regard to the second sowing cycle production, the results are supportive of the expectation that fertilization with BSFF has a superior capacity for soil fertility resilience (assessed in terms of the ability to maintain or even increase soil production in the following year, in the absence of any fertilizer application) in all the soils tested in this experiment, with a significantly greater difference in the treatment corresponding to fertilization with only BSFF compared to the exclusively chemical treatment, in all the soils tested. Furthermore, BSFF, preferably as a mixed fertilizer (in a proportion until 75%), is shown to be a promising alternative for Gleyic podzol in the production of ryegrass as in the resilience and promotion of soil productivity. As far as more fertile soils are concerned (as in the case of Haplic calcisol and Haplic fluvisol), BSFF has not proved promising in terms of immediate crop production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

29 pages, 2836 KB

Open AccessReview

Harnessing Endophytic Fungi for Sustainable Agriculture: Interactions with Soil Microbiome and Soil Health in Arable Ecosystems

by Afrin Sadia, Arifur Rahman Munshi and Ryota Kataoka

Sustainability 2026, 18(2), 872; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18020872 - 15 Jan 2026

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1998

Abstract

Sustainable food production for a growing population requires farming practices that reduce chemical inputs while maintaining soil as a living, renewable foundation for productivity. This review synthesizes current advances in understanding how endophytic fungi (EFs) interact with the soil microbiome and contribute to the physicochemical and biological dimensions of soil health in arable ecosystems. We examine evidence showing that EFs enhance plant nutrition through phosphate solubilization, siderophore-mediated micronutrient acquisition, and improved nitrogen use efficiency while also modulating plant hormones and stress-responsive pathways. EFs further increase crop resilience to drought, salinity, and heat; suppress pathogens; and influence key soil properties including aggregation, organic matter turnover, and microbial network stability. Recent integration of multi-omics, metabolomics, and community-level analyses has shifted the field from descriptive surveys toward mechanistic insight, revealing how EFs regulate nutrient cycling and remodel rhizosphere communities toward disease-suppressive and nutrient-efficient states. A central contribution of this review is the linkage of EF-mediated plant functions with soil microbiome dynamics and soil structural processes framed within a translational pipeline encompassing strain selection, formulation, delivery, and field scale monitoring. We also highlight current challenges, including context-dependent performance, competition with native microbiota, and formulation and deployment constraints that limit consistent outcomes under field conditions. By bridging microbial ecology with agronomy, this review positions EFs as biocontrol agents, biofertilizers, and ecosystem engineers with strong potential for resilient, low-input, and climate-adaptive cropping systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Sustainable Crop Production: The Interaction on Soil Microorganisms and Soil Health in Arable Land

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI