Dear colleagues, I am writing to inform that we are editing a virtual special issue (VSI) of Soil Biology & Biochemistry, entitled "Plant-soil interactions in forests: Effects of management, disturbances and climate". I feel that you may contribute to this special issue. Soil Biology & Biochemistry publishes original, scientifically challenging research articles of international significance that describe and explain biological processes occurring in soil. Impact Factor: 5.795, 5-Year Impact Factor: 6.767 Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/soil-biology-and-biochemistry The Open call of the VSI is located at (or see the end of this email): https://www.journals.elsevier.com/soil-biology-and-biochemistry/call-for-pa… The submission is now open until the 11th of April 2021. All submissions will go through the normal SBB review and publication process, all the accepted articles will be collected at the end to form an virtual special issue. The handling chief editor of this VSI is Joann Whalen (joann.whalen(a)mcgill.ca) the guest editors are Shirong Liu, Andreas Schindlbacher, Cindy Prescott, Alexia Stokes and myself. We aim to have the special issue ready by December 2021. We look forward to reading your manuscript to this special issue and please inform your colleagues of this opportunity. Best regards, Junwei Luan Luan, Junwei（栾军伟） Ph.D./Professor Institute for Resources and Environment, International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (ICBR), State Forestry and Grassland Administration #8 Futong East Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100102 Tel:+86 10 84789785 Email: junweiluan(a)icbr.ac.cn junweiluan(a)126.com Special issue information: Plant-soil interactions in forests: Effects of management, disturbances and climate This special issue will bring together studies that provide mechanistic and quantitative knowledge and perspectives on plant and soil interactions, that are related to soil organic carbon and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. The formation of soil organic matter, physical (aggregation) and chemical protection, and nutrient cycling, are largely affected and modulated by plant species traits, diversity, and their interactive effects with root exudation, root-associated microorganisms, and litter quality, especially at the rhizosphere and litter-soil interface. However, our understanding of these processes is still limited and those variations in plant traits, especially root traits, that have the strongest potential to influence soil processes, as well as their interactions with soil organisms, remains largely unexplored. Furthermore, these processes and their interactions face modification or decoupling under the impacts of management practices, disturbances, and environmental change. For example, extreme weather events, including drought, heat and freezing, and species gains and losses that are a consequence of climate change, may affect above- and below- ground biota differently. Therefore, decoupling likely occurs, exerting significant impacts on carbon and nutrient cycles. We require an improved understanding of how belowground processes vary mechanistically across spatial and temporal scales, and how potential feedbacks to external factors, including management practices, disturbances, and climate, are affected. In-depth understanding is essential for increasing accuracy of terrestrial biogeochemical and dynamic vegetation models, which are often limited by inadequate integration of key belowground processes. This special issue focusing on plant-soil interactions related to soil organic carbon and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems, and the potential feedbacks under impacts of management, disturbances and climate change, aims to narrow down the role of plant and soil interactions in shaping soil organic carbon and nutrient cycling. We invite submissions on recent findings, methodological breakthroughs and challenges, and innovative concepts for inspiring discussions on plant-soil interactions in artificial or natural forest ecosystems in a variety of biomes. Background and significance Plant-soil interactions determine ecosystem functions and services of forests, including carbon sequestration, soil erosion and flood control, remediation and improved soil fertility. Trees, especially roots and root-associated microbes, influence soil biodiversity, structure, microbial processes and biogeochemical cycling. Physical and chemical properties of soils affect the nutrition, productivity and diversity of plants. Forest management practices and silvicultural treatments affect plant-soil interactions and consequently the associated ecological functions and services of forests. Understanding the responses of these critical ecological processes (e.g. biodiversity, carbon and nutrient cycling) and their interactions with other environmental or human disturbances is essential for designing sustainable forest management strategies. Concurrently with forest management, climate changes affect the complex interactions between plants and soil. Though numerous field experiments manipulating single or multiple environmental factors gained insights into the potential ecosystem responses, and our understanding has improved by studying natural climate gradients, climate change effects on plant-soil interactions still remain uncertain, especially in forest ecosystems. This special issue will cover a wide range of topics in relations to forest management practices, disturbances, environmental changes and their effects on critical ecological processes and interactions. It is highly relevant to policy makers in making decisions about sustainable forest management with consideration of protecting soil, biodiversity and their interactions. Submissions to SBB that deal with these matters in experimental and conceptual terms are invited and can be tagged as intended for consideration for collation into the Virtual Special Issue (VSI: Forest plant-soil interactions) at the point of submission via the online EES system. Tagging options will remain open until 11 April 2021, with the aim of publishing the accepted papers as a collated special issue in December 2021. All manuscripts will be handled and considered in the same manner as mainstream submissions to the journal, and likewise published promptly online if accepted. General enquiries about the topic can be made to either of the co-ordinating editors below. Junwei Luan International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan Institute for resources and environment Beijing, 100102 P.R. China E-mail: junweiluan(a)icbr.ac.cn Shirong Liu Chinese Academy of Forestry The Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Beijing, 100091 P.R. China E-mail: liusr(a)caf.ac.cn Andreas Schindlbacher Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Austria Wien 1131 Austria E-mail: andreas.schindlbacher(a)bfw.gv.at Cindy Prescott University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada E-mail: Cindy.Prescott(a)ubc.ca Alexia Stokes French National Research Institute for Food, Agriculture and Environment Montpellier 34398 Cedex 5 France E-mail: alexia.stokes(a)cirad.fr Joann Whalen Department of Natural Resource Sciences McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Québec PQ H9X3V9, Canada Email: joann.whalen(a)mcgill.ca