Nutrients and Biota in Forest Soils

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 275

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
Interests: meso- and macrofauna; biodiversity; pre-mining and post-mining ecosystem; agroecosystem; vermicomposting
Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi Str. 5, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
Interests: agriculture; soil science; greenhouse gas; garden soils
Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200 Orestiada, Greece
Interests: forest soils; mycorrhizal symbiosis; gas soil emissions; roots
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nearly 30% of the earth's land is taken up by forests. A forest is both a living environment and an ecosystem. As an ecosystem, a forest is a functioning complex and dynamic community of plants, animals and microorganisms. During the development of the forest, needles, leaves, cones, twigs, tree bark and the remains of the ground cover begin to fall to the ground, as a result of which a plant litter layer is formed. Plant litter and the decomposition of the plant litter are key in terrestrial ecosystems, as they control the availability of plant nutrients and thereby the entire process of primary production. The biodiversity in forest soil is extremely high. A significant portion of the life activity takes place on the ground and in the upper layer of the soil. The main biological components of forest soil are plant roots, fungi, microbes and soil fauna, all of which participate in the functioning of the forest ecosystem by refining and decomposing organic matter. Soil plays an important part in natural cycles, including the nutrient cycling cycle, which involves soil organic matter, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, being absorbed and stored in the soil. Soil biota consumes large amounts of nutrients that move from one trophic level to another in the food chain. As a result, the soil biota mediates ecosystem services, with the most important being the decomposition and dynamics of organic matter, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, energy flow, water regime and preservation of water reserves in the soil and for plant growth. In order for future generations to be able to enjoy the benefits of forests, it is important to maintain and preserve forest ecosystems. To achieve this, we need knowledge, and in order to gain that knowledge, we need scientists and their research. Since forests have such large roles to play, in this Special Issue, we focus on forest nutrients and biota.

Dr. Annely Kuu
Dr. Merrit Shanskiy
Dr. Michail Orfanoudakis
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. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • nutrient cycling
  • plant–soil interactions
  • soil biota and diversity
  • soil food webs
  • ecosystem services

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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