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Call for papers - Climate-smart soils to enhance sustainable crop yield

Guest Editors

Walter Mupangwa, PhD, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Zimbabwe
Debadatta Sethi, PhD, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, India
Muhammad Shaaban, PhD, Henan University of Science and Technology, China

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 15 November 2024
 

BMC Plant Biology welcomes submissions to the Collection Climate-smart soils to enhance sustainable crop yield. This Collection seeks to gather cutting-edge research on climate-smart soils and sustainable crop yield enhancement, addressing the intricate interactions between plants, soil abiotic and biotic features, and climate-smart agricultural practices. We invite research articles that explore the role of soil and soil biota in nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem services, as well as innovative approaches to enhance agricultural sustainability in the context of climate change and food security challenges.

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 13: Climate Action

Meet the Guest Editors

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Walter Mupangwa, PhD, Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Zimbabwe

Dr Mupangwa earned his PhD in Soil Science and Agrometeorology from the University of Free State in South Africa in 2009. Additionally, he holds a Master of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a focus on Soil Science. With 18 years of experience, he worked as a Cropping Systems Agronomist for the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). He has contributed extensively to international journals and authored handbooks tailored for farmers and agricultural extension agents in southern Africa.

Debadatta Sethi, PhD, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, India

Dr Sethi holds a PhD in Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, India. He is currently conducting research on soil biology, with a specific emphasis on microbiology, soil fertility, and waste management. His areas of expertise include soil biology, biofertilizers, agro-waste management, rhizosphere, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and organic agriculture.
 

Muhammad Shaaban, PhD, Henan University of Science and Technology, China

Dr Shaaban is a distinguished figure at Henan University of Science and Technology in China, where his expertise significantly impacts the fields of soil ecology and climate change. His focused research on soil processes and environmental impacts has earned him national recognition through multiple research awards and leadership in major research projects. Dr Shaaban's academic pursuits span soil biogeochemistry, the complex dynamics of climate change and global warming, the study of greenhouse gas emissions, the essential cycles of soil nutrients, and the interactions between soil fertility and plant nutrition. Actively contributing to the scientific community, Dr Shaaban holds esteemed positions on the editorial boards of various top-tier research journals. Dr Shaaban's ongoing research and editorial efforts continue to address critical environmental challenges and contribute significantly to advancing sustainable agricultural practices.

About the Collection

Soils are essential to the function of all terrestrial ecosystems and to food production. Soil ecosystem health and its impact on sustainable crop practices have gathered increasing attention in the context of climate change and food security. Soil microbiome indeed consists of a heterogeneous pool of bacteria, fungi, algae, viruses and archaea, able to decompose organic matter and affect several biogeochemical processes that can ultimately affect crop growth, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Understanding the intricate interactions between plants, soil abiotic and biotic features, and climate-smart agricultural practices is crucial for enhancing agricultural sustainability and food security. For instance, recent research advances have highlighted the significance of Mycorrhizae and root system architecture in enhancing nutrient and water uptake, and soil biogeochemical cycles. Additionally, research has emphasized the potential of practices such as conservation tillage and cover cropping in mitigating soil nutrient loss and improving soil health.

This growing research area holds the potential for identifying novel approaches to enhance soil health and crop yield, and develop climate-resilient crop varieties, new strategies of soil carbon sequestration and precision agricultural techniques. Furthermore, ongoing research efforts may lead to the optimization of soil management practices to mitigate the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity and food security.

BMC Plant Biology announces the launch of the Collection Climate-smart soils to enhance sustainable crop yield aiming to bring together research on climate-smart soils and sustainable crop enhancement. This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), and welcomes submissions that explore the role of soil and soil biota in nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, GHG emissions, and ecosystem services, as well as innovative agricultural practices to improve crop yield and resilience in the context of climate change and food security challenges. We invite researchers and experts in the field to submit research articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Climate-smart agricultural practices for sustainable crop production
  • Developing novel approaches to enhance soil health and crop yield, including climate-resilient crop varieties and precision agricultural techniques
  • Soil health, crop productivity and water quality in the context of climate change
  • Climate-smart soil management: global potential, process controls and mitigation practices
  • Soil management to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
  • Strategies for mitigating soil nutrient loss, e.g. nutrient management, conservation tillage and cover cropping
  • Role of the soil ecosystem on the regulation of biogeochemical cycles, crop yield and plant biology
  • Soil biota-plant interactions and their impact on crop yield
  • Soil-plant interactions under climate change
  • Influence of extremophiles on soil fertility and crop productivity
  • Nutrient and water uptake mechanisms in plant, the role of mycorrhizae and root system architecture
  • Nutrient uptake and loss from agricultural soils, and impact on GHG emissions
  • Soil carbon sequestration strategies
  • Ecosystem services and carbon sequestration in the context of sustainable agriculture
  • Use of biofertilizers to enhance sustainable crop yield


Image credit: 994yellow / stock.adobe.com

  1. In the rice-based system of mid-latitudes, mineral nitrogen (N) fertilizer serves as the largest source of the N cycle due to an insufficient supply of N from organic sources causing higher N losses due to var...

    Authors: Muhammad Shahbaz Farooq, Abid Majeed, Abdel‑Halim Ghazy, Hira Fatima, Muhammad Uzair, Shafiq Ahmed, Maryam Murtaza, Sajid Fiaz, Muhammad Ramzan Khan, Abdullah A. Al-Doss and Kotb A. Attia
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:919
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. In this study, the performance of a novel organic tea compost developed for the first time in the world from raw tea waste from tea processing factories and enriched with worms, beneficial microorganisms, and ...

    Authors: Ayhan Kocaman, Yüsra İnci, Nurgül Kıtır, Metin Turan, Sanem Argın, Ertan Yıldırım, Gülay Giray, Nilda Ersoy, Adem Güneş, Hikmet Katırcıoğlu, Burak Gürkan, Ali Volkan Bilgili, Özlem Ete Aydemir and Melike Akça
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:868
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. The accumulation of secondary metabolites in Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng) exhibits significant geographical variation, normally due to environmental factors. The current study aimed at elucidating the key env...

    Authors: Dehua Wu, Feng Xiong, Hongyang Wang, Siqi Liu, Jitong Zhu, Dan Zhao, Jian Yang, Wenqi Ma, Lanping Guo and Chuanzhi Kang
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:824
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Chromium (Cr) is a toxic metal in soil–plant system, hence causing possible health risks prominently in the areas with forgoing industrial activities. Copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) have been reported as an exc...

    Authors: Zainab Naseem, Muhammad Naveed, Muhammad Asif, Saud Alamri, Saher Nawaz, Manzer H. Siddiqui and Adnan Mustafa
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:777
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Straw incorporation serves as an effective strategy to enhance soil fertility and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), which in turn improves maize yield and agricultural sustainability. However, our understa...

    Authors: Li Yang, Teng Yan Chen, Zhong Yi Li, Ihsan Muhammad, Yu Xin Chi and Xun Bo Zhou
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:729
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges to the world at present. Tomato is also suffered from devastating yield loss due to climate change. The domesticated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is presumed to be...

    Authors: Ping Liu, Ruohan Xie, Guorong Xin, Yufei Sun and Shihao Su
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:693
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Among different adsorbents, natural and inorganic compounds such as diatomite are important and advantageous in terms of high efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and function in stabilizing heavy metals in the ...

    Authors: Maryam Samani, Yogesh K. Ahlawat, Ahmad Golchin, Hossein Ali Alikhani, Ahmad Baybordi and Sadhna Mishra
    Citation: BMC Plant Biology 2024 24:357
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Climate-smart soils to enhance sustainable crop yield" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.