Soil Microbial Function in Agricultural Management
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2019) | Viewed by 5116
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Soil microbial ecology; soil microbial functions; soil health; soil biodiversity; microbial-plant interactions; N cycling; sustainable crop production; biocontrol; biofertilization; forest soil; forest fire
Interests: soil microbial ecology; soil biodiversity and ecosystem services; plant-soil-microbe initteractions; soil sustainability
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recent times have seen growing awareness of the public, industry and researchers to the need of developing natural resource management strategies and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. It is now acknowledged that soil biodiversity supplies many ecosystem services essential to agriculture and the environment. Soil microbes can be seen as part of the “working class” of the soil community. They support primary production through organic matter (OM) and nutrient cycling. Microbes promote plant growth through disease suppression, secretion of plant growth hormones, enhancement of root mass, as well as improvement of water retention in the rhizosphere and water uptake. Microbes also contribute to climate control through the regulation of C and N fluxes as well as regulating several greenhouse gases, i.e. CO2 , CH4, and N2O. Other microbial services include control of pests and diseases for humans, animals, and plants and decontamination of the environment. Finally, soil biodiversity is important for maintaining soil physical structure and preventing soil degradation. Agricultural practices, such as the choice of fertilization, irrigation management and soil cultivation affect soil quality, biodiversity and productivity. Agricultural management strategies should take into account the impact of the various practices on soil microbial diversity, abundance and activity as these in return influence agricultural soil function, productivity and sustainability.
This special issue aims at collecting original and quantitative studies as well as critical reviews dealing with any topics related to soil microbial function in agricultural settings, both conventional and unconventional (e.g. organic) agriculture. Studies done at any type of climatic (arid, Mediterranean, tropical and cold) and topographic conditions, agriculatural land use and management practices are welcome, particularly those manuscripts where a connection of soil microbial function with agricultural management has been established.
Dr. Lily Pereg
Dr. Stefano Mocali
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Soil microbial function
- Soil health
- Soil biodiversity
- Nutrient cycling (N, P, C, K)
- Agricultural management
- Sustainable agriculture
- Soil carbon
- Crop and animal production
- Organic agriculture
- Soil ecosystem services
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