Science, Society and Innovation Nexus in Forestry: Pathways to Global Sustainability

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 1830

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The interplay of science, society, and innovation in forestry has been critical in addressing the evolving environmental and societal challenges. This field has transitioned from a narrow focus on timber production to embracing a broader perspective that encompasses ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable development. Today, forestry stands at the forefront of interdisciplinary approaches that balance ecological integrity with socio-economic development.

Stemming from the 4th International Electronic Conference on Forests, which will be conducted online from 23 to 25 October 2024, this Special Issue targets a diverse range of topics, reflecting the multifaceted nature of modern forestry:

  1. Forest Ecology and Management: innovations in sustainable forest management techniques that maintain ecological balance and support ecosystem services.
  2. Forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: strategies for preserving biodiversity and optimizing the ecosystem services that forests provide, including carbon sequestration and habitat protection.
  3. Climate Smart Forestry and Forest Innovations: cutting-edge approaches in forestry that mitigate climate change impacts and enhance forest resilience.
  4. Earth Observations for Forest Resources: leveraging satellite and aerial data to monitor forest health, growth, and changes over time.
  5. Forest Wildfires: understanding the causes, impacts, and management strategies for forest fires in the context of a changing climate.
  6. Wood Science, Production Chains, Fuelwood, and Trade: advances in wood science and the sustainable management of production chains, including aspects of fuelwood and trade.
  7. Bioeconomy and Forest Economics: exploring the economic aspects of forestry within the bioeconomy, focusing on sustainable development and economic viability.

Through, but not limited to, these themes, this Special Issue aims to showcase innovative research and practices that contribute to global sustainability goals, fostering a balance between ecological preservation and socio-economic benefits. We are looking for original research papers, reviews, and innovative case studies that address the nexus of science, society, and innovation in forestry.

Dr. Giorgos Mallinis
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • sustainable forestry
  • climate resilience
  • forest biodiversity
  • innovative ecosystem management
  • bioeconomy in forestry
  • innovation
  • ecosystem services
  • forest monitoring

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 2975 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Impacts of Socio-Economic Changes on REDD+ Benefits in Xishuangbanna Rainforests
by Siqi Lu, Heli Lu, Chuanrong Zhang, Changhong Miao and Thanasis Kizos
Forests 2025, 16(1), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010120 - 10 Jan 2025
Viewed by 459
Abstract
REDD+ is a UN-backed framework aimed at reducing carbon emissions in developing countries through sustainable forest management and the protection and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. These are key goals for the international community to achieve climate change mitigation through forestry. REDD+ programs [...] Read more.
REDD+ is a UN-backed framework aimed at reducing carbon emissions in developing countries through sustainable forest management and the protection and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. These are key goals for the international community to achieve climate change mitigation through forestry. REDD+ programs deliver carbon, environmentally based, and social benefits through incentives provided to local societies. This study focuses on a quantitative assessment of the REDD+ framework from the perspective of localized socio-economic shifts. The drivers–pressures–state–impact and partial least squares–structural equation models were employed to evaluate impacts of socio-economic change on multiple REDD+ benefits and their influential factors in the tropical rainforests of Xishuangbanna, China. The results revealed that land-use changes form essential and complex links between socio-economic and eco-environmental changes. Socio-economic shifts in the recent twenty years in Xishuangbanna impacted carbon emissions mainly through land-use change (impact coefficient = 0.909), which was nearly three times the impact of land-use change on environmental degradation (0.322) and more than twice its impact on social benefits (0.363). Such unbalanced impacts suggest a need to optimize local policies through contextualized measures in a way that effectively addresses livelihood improvements, enhancing carbon storage and environmental services to achieve REDD+ targets in the tropical rainforests of China. Full article
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