Future Trends and Challenges in Forest Education
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Economics, Policy, and Social Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2025 | Viewed by 163
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
[*] Background and history of this topic:
Forest education globally has a long (200+ years) and highly productive history. We have entered a new phase in humanity’s relationships with forests, which might require new ways of understanding forests.
[*] Aim and scope of the Special Issue:
In recent years, there have been several important shifts in forestry and silviculture. One is the growing recognition of the importance of academic research in a range of forest-related disciplines. Such research recognises the complexity of forested ecosystems, or even plantations grown as a monoculture. The focus on timber production has been extended. Those working in forest education now also embrace the much wider understanding of forests that provide numerous ecosystem services. These include centres of biodiversity, the regulation of water and atmospheric quality, substrate stability, non-timber products, and cultural value. Critically, forest education must now incorporate careful consideration of forests being major carbon sinks. Simultaneously, forests are vulnerable to the numerous climate change effects.
These are some of the abundant issues that need to be integrated into programmes of forest education for the 21st century.
[*] Cutting-edge research:
Research is now, necessarily, interdisciplinary and dynamic. The main areas of forest research activity include forests as reservoirs of vital resources, the community and amenity values of forests, the role of forests in stabilising and protecting the landscape, the genetics of tree breeding, mechanisms of pathogen transmission and resistance, vulnerability to invasive species, sustainable management, carbon sequestration and retention, and forests as centres of biodiversity.
[*] The kinds of papers we are soliciting:
We need a fresh understanding of where forest education is currently, and where it should head toward. A new generation of foresters will be needed, foresters who can recognise and meet the demands of a complex and changing global environment.
Dr. Martin Barker
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
- education
- future
- innovations
- forestry
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
