Soil Microbiota and Ecology in Sustainable Agroecosystems
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 4
Special Issue Editor
Interests: microbial communities; microbial biomass; soil enzyme; soil quality; plant production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Soil is a renewable—or at least potentially renewable—resource critical not only for agriculture but for the sustainability of human civilization as a whole. Healthy soils are full of living organisms: viruses, microorganisms, fungi, insects, earthworms, and more. The vast majority of soil processes are mediated by these diverse microbial communities. These include the formation and decomposition of organic matter, nutrient cycling and availability, detoxification of harmful substances, and the creation of favourable soil structure.
Sustainable agriculture depends on maintaining and enhancing the functionality and resilience of these microbial communities. To achieve this, we must better understand the factors that shape microbial activity, composition, and diversity, as well as the dynamics of their interactions with biotic and abiotic elements in the environment. The microbial community—the microbiota—can be studied in many ways, and its activity, quantity, or diversity can be measured and evaluated. It is also important to examine how microbial communities interact with both living or non-living components of the environment, as well as to understand the dynamics of these interactions. Ecology, as the natural science of the relationships between living organisms and their environment, provides the framework for such studies. In a narrower sense, it focuses on interactions and adaptations among species or communities; the movement of nutrients and energy through living systems; community succession; and processes such as cooperation, competition and predation. It also explores how changes in patterns of biodiversity influence soil functions and processes.
For this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit articles focused on the assessment of microbial communities in agroecosystems from an ecological perspective. We welcome papers that examine ecological changes resulting from various agricultural practices—such as crop type, tillage, fertilization, and pesticide application—as well as interactions between different species or communities. Our focus primarily on the soil microbiota, but studies about plant–microbe interactions are also welcome. Of particular interest are investigations into the ecological impacts of the increasingly widespread use of soil inoculant products. In addition to papers reporting on experiments, we similarly welcome review articles.
Dr. Gábor Csitári
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- plant production
- soil microbial communities
- soil management methods
- succession of microbial communities
- diversity pattern
- soil ecology
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