The present Special Issue published in Advances of Space Research contains a collection of peer-reviewed contributions that builds on the recent observational and theoretical advances, surveying the existing knowledge in reconnecting magnetic fields, flares and plasma heating, the generation, evolutions and dynamics of small-scale solar jets, dynamics in various layers of the solar atmosphere, recent advances in coronal spectroscopy and the evolution of the solar wind inspired by European Solar Physics Meeting ESPM-16 conducted online in September 2021 . Of course, the topics presented here do not cover, by far, the aspects that nowadays constitute the multi-faceted solar physics discipline. Nevertheless, we hope that the present contributions will give readers an overview about where some of our knowledge of solar physics currently stands and what are we aiming for.

This Special Issue has tremendously benefited from the help and guidance by Dr. Peggy Ann Shea, ASR Co-Editor for Special Issues. The Guest Editors are grateful to all the authors for their valuable time and efforts, without which the publication of this issue would have been impossible. We also thank all the referees for their hard work and invaluable advice, that profoundly improved the papers contained in this issue.