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@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@caf.ac.cn

Andreas Schindlbacher
Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Austria
Wien 1131 Austria
E-mail: andreas.schindlbacher@bfw.gv.at

Cindy Prescott
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada
E-mail: Cindy.Prescott@ubc.ca

Alexia Stokes
French National Research Institute for Food, Agriculture and Environment
Montpellier 34398 Cedex 5 France
E-mail: alexia.stokes@cirad.fr

Joann Whalen
Department of Natural Resource Sciences
McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Québec PQ H9X3V9, Canada
Email: joann.whalen@mcgill.ca