Call for Submissions: Journal Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems requests articles for upcoming special issue

Major processes by which enhanced weathering removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it over geologic time scales (hundreds of thousands to millions of years). (Figure by James Jerden for RTE)

Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems has recently announced that it is accepting submissions for an upcoming special issue of the journal dedicated to recent advances on enhanced rock weathering (ERW) as a land-based CO₂ removal method in agroecosystems.

In the last few years, the market has realized ERW’s potential to capture and durably store atmospheric CO₂, precipitating the emergence of a carbon trading market, with an estimated value of $949 billion in 2023. The practice of carbon trading originated from the development of the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry, where carbon credit exchanges often fund startups focussed on research and development in a race to commercialize carbon credits and offset CO₂ emissions.

Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems is the premier publication for manuscripts addressing all aspects of carbon and nutrient cycling, management, and examining their effects in ecological, agronomic, environmental, and economic terms within soil-crop-animal systems.

They focus on publishing manuscripts whose results allow mechanistic conclusions of broad applicability. They strive to distinguish themselves from results or case studies of only local or regional importance and instead consider the wider system in the examination of cycling and fluxes in agroecosystems or their components. Studies include multi-year field observations, farm gate budgets, watershed studies, life cycle assessments, enterprise and economic analyses, or regional and global modeling. They also discuss management objectives such as environmental and economic impacts, in addition to discussions about maximizing food, fiber and fuel production.

The upcoming special issue titled “SI: Enhanced Rock Weathering in Agroecosystems” is focused on experimental and modeling studies concerning recent advances on ERW as a CDR method in agroecosystems.

This special issue will be edited by Dr. Binoy Sakar, aided by a team of editors including Dr. Christiana Dietzen, from the University of Copenhagen, Dr. Biraj Basak, of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institute, and Dr. Emily Chiang, at the University of Guelph. 

The issue is currently accepting submissions of full papers, reviews, short communications, perspectives, and commentaries. Submissions for full papers should report on original data concerning carbon and nutrient cycling in agroecosystems, beyond local or regional importance. Reviews should cover important research topics by not only summarizing published research but by providing new insights and concepts through innovative data analysis and synthesis. Submissions of short communications should be short reports of new results of special interest based on a relatively limited dataset. Perspectives succinctly discuss emergent ideas, controversial concepts, or policy issues with respect to carbon and nutrient cycles in agroecosystems and typically focus on one narrow issue rather than a broader topic. Finally, commentaries provide very brief responses to previous publications in this or other journals by expanding on published data, raising questions or highlighting broader issues without primarily providing a critique to the data.

Parties interested in publishing in the forthcoming special issue should visit the submission page on Springer’s website for further details about submission guidelines before the submission window ends on March 31, 2025.

Benjamin ZH Tan is a recent graduate of Northeastern University with a masters degree in media innovation. He writes about the intersection of technology and climate, and finds joy in producing in-depth explainers about science-related topics. He is committed to raising public awareness of the science of soil remineralization and emerging technologies in greenhouse gas drawdown. During his free time, he enjoys landscape photography, hiking, and cooking.