Monitoring and Assessment of Carbon Storage in Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon storage in soils is key for the development and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems as it contributes to the mitigation of climate change effects as well as to the adaptation of ecosystems to climate extremes and, hence, to their resilience. In recent decades, inappropriate soil management practices, including deforestation, have caused detrimental carbon losses from soils on a global scale. More recently, the additional CO₂ release from natural and managed ecosystems, as an indirect effect of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, has come into focus.

This Special Issue will provide a survey on the carbon sequestration potentials of major biomes such as tundras, boreal coniferous forests, tropical rainforests, savannas, and all forms of wetlands, as well as grasslands and arable land. The specific vulnerability of these systems to climate change and inappropriate land use will be discussed considering the losses of soil carbon and related impacts on soil fertility, water and nutrient cycling, and on biodiversity. Also, climate change-induced soil degradation processes, as the natural feedback loop of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, will be addressed. In this context, specific options for restoring soil functions to increase the resilience of such systems will be described. This will include approaches to harmonizing the protection of ecosystems and the utilization of ecosystems for production purposes. Emphasis will be placed on the identification of indicators reflecting the ecological state of these systems also allowing for a qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of the effects of respective restoration measures. This will form the basis for the implementation of advanced monitoring approaches in a quantifiable and sustainable manner and for exploration of how identified indicators may be used to reward management-derived ecosystem services.

Prof. Dr. Reinhard F. Hüttl
Dr. Uwe Schneider
Dr. Katrin Schneider
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• soil carbon sequestration
• soil carbon losses
• biodiversity-related carbon storage (biomass/management)
• climate change adaptation
• climate change mitigation
• carbon pools and fluxes
• rhizosphere
• carbon-related soil parameters
• soil monitoring (e.g., fertility)
• carbon management