Abiotic and Biotic Herb Stress: Mechanisms, Physiology and Biochemical Changes

Submission Deadline: 31 March 2027 View: 45 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editor(s)

Prof. Dr. Vasile Stoleru

Email: vasile.stoleru@iuls.ro

Affiliation: Department of Horticulture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, Iasi, Romania

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Research Interests: biodiversity, wilde and domestic vegetables, agro-ecology

Dr. Mihaela Roșca

Email: mihaela.rosca@iuls.ro

Affiliation: Department of Horticulture, Iasi University of Life Sciences, Iasi, Romania

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Research Interests: plant responses to abiotic stress, plant–environment interactions, risk assessment, statistical and process modelling for sustainable plant systems

Dr. Gabriel-Ciprian Teliban

Email: gabriel.teliban@iuls.ro

Affiliation: Department of Horticulture, "Ion Ionescu de la Brad" Iasi University of Life Sciences, Iasi, Romania

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Research Interests: plant stress responses, vegetable crops and aromatic plants, fertilization strategies, sustainable cultivation systems

Summary

Herb plants are continuously exposed to a wide range of environmental and biological constraints that significantly affect their growth, productivity, and metabolic performance. Herbs, including medicinal and aromatic species, are particularly sensitive to environmental instability due to their specialized metabolism and high phytochemical activity. Abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, high irradiance, heavy metal contamination, and nutrient imbalance disrupt cellular homeostasis and interfere with photosynthesis, respiration, water relations, and membrane stability. Concurrently, biotic stresses, including pathogens, herbivorous insects, parasitic organisms, and microbial infections, activate complex defense responses that further alter plant metabolism. Under stress conditions, herbs undergo profound physiological and biochemical adjustments. One of the primary consequences of stress exposure is the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems, hormonal signaling networks etc. These responses are highly coordinated and involve dynamic crosstalk between signaling pathways associated with both abiotic and biotic stressors. In herbs, stress responses are closely linked to changes in secondary metabolism. Environmental and biological pressures can significantly influence the synthesis and accumulation of bioactive compounds such as phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and essential oils. Therefore, understanding the balance between stress adaptation and metabolic cost is essential for sustainable cultivation and phytochemical standardization.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive platform for research that elucidates the mechanisms underlying abiotic and biotic stress responses in herbs and related plant systems. Contributions employing advanced methodologies—including physiological measurements, biochemical profiling, elemental analysis, and omics-based approaches—are particularly encouraged. The scope of the issue is not limited to: stress perception and signal transduction; hormonal regulation and pathway crosstalk; oxidative stress and antioxidant defense; photosynthetic adjustments under stress; metabolic reprogramming; nutrient dynamics and elemental redistribution; secondary metabolite modulation; combined and sequential stress effects; stress memory and epigenetic regulation; and strategies to enhance stress resilience through agronomic or biotechnological approaches.

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