Physiological, Morphological and Anatomical Traits to Abiotic Stress in Woody Plants
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Wood Science and Forest Products".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2026 | Viewed by 5
Special Issue Editors
Interests: wood anatomy; properties; wood use; archaeological wood; cultural heritage; rare species; invasive species; innovative products; wood products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: wood and phloem formation; intra-annual density fluctuation; functional wood traits; quantitative wood anatomy; drought response; mediterranean ecosystems; scanning electron microscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Woody species are increasingly exposed to abiotic stressors such as drought, heat, changes in precipitation conditions and anthropogenic landscape disturbances. These stress factors affect key plant functions—altering growth patterns, wood formation and overall performance—and are leading to rapid shifts in forest dynamics worldwide. Understanding how woody plants respond to abiotic stress at physiological, morphological and anatomical levels is essential to predict their resilience, productivity and ecological function under future scenarios.
This Special Issue invites original papers, reviews and short communications dealing with the trait-based responses of woody plants to abiotic stress, and we welcome studies that address wood formation (xylogenesis), growth allocation, structural adaptation and functional traits linked to stress tolerance and wood quality. Submissions may include field experiments, anatomical or mechanical trait analyses, ecophysiological monitoring or modelling approaches across different climatic zones, forest types and species—including underutilised or ecologically important taxa.
The aim is to gain integrative knowledge that support climate-smart forest management, the diversification of resources and the innovation of bio-based materials.
Dr. Maks Merela
Dr. Angela Balzano
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. Forests 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 2600 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.
Keywords
- woody plant
- abiotic stress
- functional wood traits
- tree rings
- wood formation
- anthropogenic disturbance
- structural plasticity
- physiological response
- morphological adaptation
- drought tolerance
- climate change
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