It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the 3rd Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences (IECPS 2024). The conference is organized by the MDPI open-access journal Plants (ISSN: 2223-7747, Impact Factor 4.5). It allows scientists from all over the world to present their latest research in Plant Sciences, receive direct feedback, and engage in discussions with the wider scientific community.

From an anthropocentric point of view, that leads to the so-called ‘plant blindness’, we forget that our life depends entirely on plants. Indeed, life on earth is carbon-based: around 82% of carbon in the biosphere is stored in the biomass of plants, the main contributors to the ecological stability of the planet. Even if they are sessile and solitary-like organisms, plants can be defined as 'holobionts’ formed by the organism itself plus the enormity of microorganisms living on (epiphytic) and in (endophytic) it, that can establish diverse plant–microorganism interactions. Furthermore, plants are in chemical (e.g., volatile substances and root exudates), physical (e.g., shading, touch, electrical stimuli) and/or biological (e.g., by mycorrhizal network) connection with other plants of the same or different species. Thus, in a certain sense, they are never alone but strictly networked with each other and with a plethora of other organisms.

In this scenario, IECPS 2024 will deepen plant research at all levels, from the molecular through to the whole plant and community scale. This year, we have planned eight focused sessions:

• Session A: Plant Physiology, Signaling and Communication
• Session B: Plant Ecology, Biodiversity and Developmental Biology
• Session C: Plant Response to Stresses and Changing Environment
• Session D: Phytochemistry, Phytoremediation, and Plants in Urban Ecosystems
• Session E: Plant Nutrition and Plant–Soil–Microorganism Interactions
• Session F: Plant Molecular Biology and Plant Genetics, Genomics, and Biotechnology
• Session G: Plant Modeling and Bioinformatics
• Session H: Plant Ecosystem Services and Public Outreach

The IECPS 2024 will be an online-only proceeding, which allows participation from all over the world with no requirement for travel or related expenditures. An electronic conference provides a platform for rapid and direct exchanges about the latest research findings and novel ideas.

We are committed to equality and inclusion principles. Therefore, we ask authors to ensure that the papers and presentations are highly accessible to the wider and more diverse scientific community. We encourage submissions from scientists at all career stages and backgrounds and aim for an equal gender balance.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to this scientific event and would like to thank you in advance for your active support.

Sincerely,
Prof. Dr. Adriano Sofo
The chair of the Third Electronic Conference on Plant Sciences

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