Environmental change is altering the soil–plant continuum, with consequences for ecosystem functioning, crop productivity, biogeochemical cycles, and land management. Drought, salinity, temperature extremes, nutrient imbalances, and soil degradation affect element mobility and bioavailability, root uptake, carbon assimilation, and plant performance. Understanding these interconnected responses requires approaches that link below- and above-ground processes across spatial and temporal scales.
This session will explore how isotope and trace-element geochemistry can be integrated with plant phenotyping to investigate the soil–rhizosphere–plant–atmosphere system under changing environmental conditions. We welcome contributions from natural and managed ecosystems, including forests, grasslands, croplands, orchards, vineyards, and marginal lands.
We particularly encourage studies integrating stable isotopes (e.g. δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H, δ¹⁸O, and δ³⁴S), trace-element and isotope geochemistry, and plant phenotyping methods such as spectral and thermal imaging, chlorophyll fluorescence, and root-stem-leaf hydraulic system structural-functional characterization. These complementary approaches can help trace water and nutrient pathways, assess element bioavailability and soil-to-plant transfer, and identify physiological responses across species, cultivars, and genotypes. Contributions may range from controlled experiments to field and landscape-scale studies, including methodological advances and the integration of experimental data with modelling or remote sensing. By connecting geochemistry, soil biogeochemistry, plant ecophysiology, hydrology, phenotyping, and crop science, the session aims to translate fundamental knowledge of the soil–plant continuum into applications for ecosystem and crop resilience, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable land management.