Urban Forests and Ecosystem Services

Dear Colleagues,

Urban forests are vital green infrastructure, delivering critical ecosystem services essential for sustainable and resilient cities. This Special Issue of Forests will focus on the multifaceted roles of urban trees and woodlands in enhancing human well-being and environmental quality. We invite original research and reviews addressing the quantification, valuation, mapping, and management of ecosystem services provided by urban forests. Key areas of interest include climate regulation (carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation), air and water purification, biodiversity conservation, noise reduction, recreation, and mental health benefits. We particularly welcome studies that explore innovative methodologies for assessing ecosystem service flows, the impacts of urbanization pressures and climate change, socio-ecological dynamics, equitable access, and evidence-based strategies for optimizing urban forest planning, design, and governance. The manuscripts in this Special Issue will advance our understanding of how urban forests contribute to healthier, more livable and sustainable urban environments globally.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Innovative assessment tools for mapping ecosystem service flows in cities;
• Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience in urban woodlands;
• Quantifying urban forest carbon sequestration and climate regulation;
• Urban forest and the hydrological cycle;
• Climate-adaptive strategies for sustainable urban forest management;
• Urban forests for heat island mitigation.

Dr. Le Li
Dr. Alessandro Paletto
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.