Soil-Microbe Synergy for Sustainable Ecosystems
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 31
Special Issue Editors
Interests: soil microbes and carbon cycling; soil organic matter and agricultural sustainability; soil microbial-derived carbon and formation mechanism; dissolved organic matter biochemistry in soil-stream system
Interests: global soil–plant ecosystem nutrient patterns; total soil nitrogen transformation processes; nitrogen–carbon interactions and their ecological functions; soil gas emissions
Interests: global C and N cycling; climate change and land use change; organic farming; long-term fertilization experiments
Interests: tropical carbon and nitrogen cycling; land use change and greenhouse gas emission; global warming and carbon sequestration; straw return and soil fertility; long-term fertilization and nutrient availability
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are organizing this Special Issue to draw the attention of global scientific communities to the mechanisms and applications of soil–microbe interactions, aiming to bridge foundational ecological knowledge with actionable strategies for achieving global sustainability goals.
a. Focus:
This Special Issue will highlight the functional synergy between soil microorganisms and their physicochemical environment as a key driver of terrestrial ecosystem sustainability. It will move beyond descriptive diversity studies to showcase research that elucidates the mechanisms, outcomes, and practical applications of soil–microbe interactions in supporting ecosystem resilience, agricultural productivity, and climate change mitigation.
b. Scope:
This Special Issue will adopt an interdisciplinary scope, integrating soil science, ecology, agronomy, and environmental engineering. We welcome contributions spanning micro-scale processes to landscape-level assessments across both natural and managed systems (e.g., agricultural, forest, rehabilitated soils) and bridging foundational knowledge with real-world applications.
c. This Special Issue is organized around five integrated thematic areas:
- Foundations of Soil–Microbe Interactions: Processes governing nutrient cycling, organic matter stabilization, and soil structure.
- Response and Resilience Under Stress: Adaptation to and mitigation of abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, contamination) and climate change.
- Applying Microbial Functions for Sustainability: Designing microbial strategies for sustainable agriculture (e.g., bio-inoculants) and environmental remediation.
- Indicators for Soil Health: Developing and validating functional indicators to monitor soil health and ecosystem sustainability.
- Emerging Approaches: Utilizing advanced methods like integrated omics and modeling for a predictive understanding of soil ecosystem functioning.
d. Purpose:
Our overarching goal is to translate this knowledge into actionable strategies for enhancing ecosystem resilience, agricultural productivity, and climate change mitigation, explicitly linking findings to relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2, 6, 13, 15).
- Supplementing and Relating to the Existing Literature
Current research on soil ecology often focuses on correlations between microbial communities and environmental parameters. This Special Issue aims to bridge the gap between correlation and actionable insights, with key priorities including the following:
- Emphasizing Functional Synergy: Moving beyond taxonomic descriptions to uncover the collective functions of microorganisms and their management strategies. Studies employing activity-based assessments and experimental approaches are particularly encouraged.
- Fostering Cross-Disciplinary Integration: Connecting ecological theory with practical applications in sustainable land use, climate mitigation, and ecosystem restoration.
- Focusing on Sustainability Outcomes: Submissions must clearly articulate how soil–microbe interactions are defined, quantified, or applied to address specific sustainability challenges.
- Advancing Quantifiable Frameworks: Encouraging the use of frameworks such as the "Microbial Carbon Pump" to quantify microbial contributions to soil carbon sequestration and inform climate-smart management.
By defining functional microbial indicators, applying innovative monitoring tools, developing microbial solutions, and providing evidence for decision-making, this Special Issue will promote a shift toward ecologically informed biology-based management strategies, directly supporting multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Zhipeng Wu
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Salah Elrys
Prof. Dr. Weiguo Cheng
Dr. Shuirong Tang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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
- soil–microbe synergy
- sustainable agriculture
- microbial carbon pump
- soil health indicators
- bioremediation
- climate resilience
- microbial ecology
- ecosystem services
- soil biodiversity
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