About this Research Topic

Background

Soil biota represents 25% of the total global biodiversity and can have plenty of ecological niches, spanning from mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism among each other and with other biota, including plants, animals, and humans. Soil biota is the interface between plant roots and the soil, and can dramatically improve or reduce the performance, growth, yield, and fitness of both crops and plant communities. Additionally, soil biota is the main component of soil fertility and can directly influence soil traits in both the short and the long term. So far, the management of the soil biota, and especially those improving crop growth, is scarcely known when aiming for sustainable cropping systems and natural soil management.

The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a holistic view of the mechanisms and practices for the management of the plant-soil biota interaction for improving plant growth, and soil traits and reducing any risk for both the animals and humans. This topic will deal with human intervention on the soil biota to build a sustainable ecosystem and agro-ecosystem management across a wide range of conditions, including, but not limited to, contrasting land uses or soil management, species/genotypes of either plant or soil biota, soil
types, climatic regions, and so on.

The following topics are particularly welcomed:

• Mechanisms of soil biota interaction among each other and with either cultivated or natural plants
• Management of beneficial fungi or beneficial bacteria for plant growth under both cropping and natural
systems
• Management of viruses in the soils at the root-soil interface and in the plant
• Management of soil invertebrates and vertebrates at the root-soil interface and in the plant

Information should be synthesized from both natural, semi-natural and anthropogenic systems and various degrees of human intensification to both satisfy human demands and preserve ecosystem functioning.

We welcome articles providing quantitative answers under a broad range of formats such as Original Research Articles, Reviews/meta-analyses, Hypotheses, Opinions, and Commentaries. If possible, articles could include the human dimension of the tackled research, relevance to society, and future management of the soil in light of climate changes, agricultural changes, societal changes and provide information on the potential socioeconomic aspects of the topic deepened in.

Studies from genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and ionomics areas are all welcome given that they also provide insight into the mechanisms of functioning of the soil biota or management practices to achieve benefits from the soil biota.

Keywords: plant-soil biota management, ecosystem, agro-ecosystem, genotypes, beneficial fungi, viruses, bacteria

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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