Climate Change and Forest Phenology: Ecophysiological Mechanisms and Impacts
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Forest phenology—the timing of seasonal biological events such as leaf-out, flowering, and senescence—is a sensitive and integrative indicator of climate change. Shifts in these phenological events can profoundly affect forest productivity, species interactions, carbon and water cycles, and overall ecosystem resilience. Although evidence of climate-driven phenological change is mounting, the physiological mechanisms linking environmental drivers—such as temperature, photoperiod, elevated CO2, drought, and other climate extremes—to phenological responses remain insufficiently understood, particularly across diverse forest biomes and species functional types.
This Special Issue aims to bridge this critical knowledge gap by assembling cutting-edge research focused on the physiological underpinnings of forest phenology under a changing climate. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and modeling studies that integrate ecophysiology, long-term observations, experimental approaches, and remote sensing techniques—including PhenoCam networks. Emphasis will be placed on interspecific variation, phenological plasticity, and the impacts of compound climate stressors such as extreme heat, prolonged drought, and late-season cold spells. Our goal is to foster a comprehensive understanding of how physiological processes mediate phenological shifts and what these changes mean for forest function, biodiversity, and sustainability in the Anthropocene.
Dr. Jiaxin Wang
Guest Editor
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
- forest phenology
- global warming
- tree physiology
- drought and heat stress
- carbon and water fluxes
- functional traits
- phenological plasticity
- experimental ecology
- remote sensing
- tree-ring phenology
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