Due to climate change and human disturbance, the global coastal wetland ecosystems (salt marshes, brackish marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove swamps and forested swamps) are undergoing notable changes. Plant roots are the most physiologically active plant component and the root-soil system is increasingly the focus of research linking subsurface ecology and ecosystem processes. However, due to the limitation of observation methods, the current research progress is not enough for us to have a very clear understanding of the processes occurring belowground, especially in wetland ecosystems with frequent flooding.
The plant-soil system in wetlands has an essential ecological barrier function, which may counteract adverse environmental factors and maintain the system’s diverse ecological roles. The plant-soil system in wetlands reacts to external disturbance by altering plant functional features, soil structure or microbial communities. However, the combined responses of the plant-soil system in coastal wetlands to environmental stressors and their association with ecosystem functions (such as plant primary productivity, carbon cycling, plant root- soil interactions, or microbial diversity in roots or soil) have not yet been fully understood.
This Research Topic aims to gather new fundamental research to develop novel insights about responses of the plant-soil system in coastal wetlands to environmental stressors, including (but not limited to) salinization, drought, sea level rise, pollution, eutrophication, land use changes, and other anthropogenic factors.
We welcome different types of manuscripts including original research papers, reviews, and methods, including but not limited to:
• Plant-soil interactions under different environmental stresses in coastal wetland ecosystem.
• Change of soil texture or functions under invasion of alien plants or succession occurrence.
• Responses of soil microbial diversity (in roots or soil) to environmental stresses.
• Variation of plant functional traits along environmental and geographic gradients.
Due to climate change and human disturbance, the global coastal wetland ecosystems (salt marshes, brackish marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove swamps and forested swamps) are undergoing notable changes. Plant roots are the most physiologically active plant component and the root-soil system is increasingly the focus of research linking subsurface ecology and ecosystem processes. However, due to the limitation of observation methods, the current research progress is not enough for us to have a very clear understanding of the processes occurring belowground, especially in wetland ecosystems with frequent flooding.
The plant-soil system in wetlands has an essential ecological barrier function, which may counteract adverse environmental factors and maintain the system’s diverse ecological roles. The plant-soil system in wetlands reacts to external disturbance by altering plant functional features, soil structure or microbial communities. However, the combined responses of the plant-soil system in coastal wetlands to environmental stressors and their association with ecosystem functions (such as plant primary productivity, carbon cycling, plant root- soil interactions, or microbial diversity in roots or soil) have not yet been fully understood.
This Research Topic aims to gather new fundamental research to develop novel insights about responses of the plant-soil system in coastal wetlands to environmental stressors, including (but not limited to) salinization, drought, sea level rise, pollution, eutrophication, land use changes, and other anthropogenic factors.
We welcome different types of manuscripts including original research papers, reviews, and methods, including but not limited to:
• Plant-soil interactions under different environmental stresses in coastal wetland ecosystem.
• Change of soil texture or functions under invasion of alien plants or succession occurrence.
• Responses of soil microbial diversity (in roots or soil) to environmental stresses.
• Variation of plant functional traits along environmental and geographic gradients.