We are pleased to share the following 15 title stories selected for the first half of 2026. Five papers published in Forests (ISSN 1999-4907) were chosen every two months from the most notable papers published within the last two to three months. These papers will be of particular interest or importance to readers and have all been well received by researchers.

1. “Host-Specific Fungal Assemblages, Dominated by Ophiostomatoid Taxa, in Scots Pine Bark Beetles from Slovakia Revealed by Metabarcoding”
by Marek Barta, Renata Artimová, Juraj Medo, Miriam Kádasi Horáková, Michaela Strmisková and Katarína Pastirčáková
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1690; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111690
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16/11/1690

2. “Interactive Visualizations of Integrated Long-Term Monitoring Data for Forest and Fuels Management on Public Lands”
by Kate Jones and Jelena Vukomanovic
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1706; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111706
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16/11/1706

3. “Between Old Law and New Practice: The Policy–Implementation Gap in Türkiye’s Forest Governance Transition”
by Üstüner Birben, Meriç Çakır, Nilay Tulukcu Yıldızbaş, Hasan Tezcan Yıldırım, Dalia Perkumienė, Mindaugas Škėma and Marius Aleinikovas
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1721; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111721
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16/11/1721

4. “Mixed-Species Afforestation Increases Deep Soil Water Consumption on the Semi-Arid Loess Plateau”
by Tingfang Meng, Hao Feng, Wenjie Wu, Guangjie Chen, Min Li, Bingcheng Si and Qin’ge Dong
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1738; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111738
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16/11/1738

5. “Entomopathogenic Fungi from Minnesota Are Virulent Against Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Adults in a Laboratory Autodissemination Device Assay”
by Colin J. Peters, Nickolas N. Rajtar and Robert A. Blanchette
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1742; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111742
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16/11/1742

6. “Reproductive Investment Across Native and Invasive Regions in Pittosporum undulatum Vent., a Range Expanding Gynodioecious Tree”
by Ben O’Leary, Martin Burd, Susanna Venn and Roslyn M. Gleadow
Forests 2026, 17(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010072
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/1/72

7. “Hydrochemical Resilience of Mountain Forest Catchments to Bark Beetle Disturbance: A Central European Study”
by Kateřina Neudertová Hellebrandová, Věra Fadrhonsová and Vít Šrámek
Forests 2026, 17(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010078
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/1/78

8. “Omorika Spruce as a Potential Substitute for Norway Spruce and Blue Spruce in Post-Pollution Reforestation for Industrial Use”
by Aleš Zeidler, Václav Trojan, Stanislav Vacek, Zdeněk Vacek, Karol Tomczak, Jan Cukor, Urszula Strugarek, Vlastimil Borůvka, Arkadiusz Tomczak, Josef Gallo et al.
Forests 2026, 17(1), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010109
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/1/109

9. “Impervious Surfaces Do Not Impact Urban Tree Crown Growth”
by Peter Cybula, Patricia R. Torquato, Amy Hahs and Stefan K. Arndt
Forests 2026, 17(1), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010111
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/1/111

10. “A Multi-Scale Anatomical Wood Identification Approach Applied to Traditional Japanese Chord Instruments”
by Flavio Ruffinatto, Simonetta Capetta, Aurora Canepari and Alan Crivellaro
Forests 2026, 17(1), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010122
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/1/122

11. “Urbanisation Shapes the Diversity, Composition, and Functional Profile of Endophytic Bacteriome in Common Urban Tree Species”
by Mariana Petkova, Stefan Shilev, Bogdan Nikolov and Slaveya Petrova
Forests 2026, 17(3), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030313
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/3/313

12. “Participation and Diagnostic Role of Epigeic Bryophytes in Forest Alliances in Central Poland”
by Grzegorz J. Wolski, Aamir Shehzad Khan, Zofia Sotek and Małgorzata Stasińska
Forests 2026, 17(3), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030321
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/3/321

13. “Factors Supporting a High Level of Understorey Plant Diversity in Ravine Forests (EU Priority Habitat Type)”
by Lado Kutnar, Anže Martin Pintar, Aleksander Marinšek and Janez Kermavnar
Forests 2026, 17(3), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030370
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/3/370

14. “Variable Density Planting: Using Marigolds as a Model System to Describe a Silvicultural Approach to Increase Structural Diversity”
by Gregory J. Ettl, Courtney R. Bobsin, Bernard T. Bormann and Dano E. Holt
Forests 2026, 17(4), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17040401
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/4/401

15. “Influence of a White Oak Species Gradient on Genetic Structure and Diversity of Quercus glabrescens (Fagaceae) in Mexico”
by Katia Sánchez-Ortiz, Susana Valencia-A and Efraín Tovar-Sánchez
Forests 2026, 17(4), 408; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17040408
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/4/408