Sustainable and Suitable Ecological Management of Forest Plantation

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Operations and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 March 2026 | Viewed by 1444

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CREA-Research Centre for Forestry and Wood, Viale Santa Margherita 80, 05025 Arezzo, Italy
Interests: forestry; forest ecology; black pine stands; forest mechanical stability; forest structure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change and forest ecosystems are closely connected. Forests and forest plantations can act as a carbon sink, as they can accumulate atmospheric CO2 as carbon in vegetation and soil. However, human activities that impact land use and forest characteristics can alter the carbon cycle between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, leading to increased CO2 emissions. Since forest plantations can act as a carbon sink, they are included in international policies to address climate change through both mitigation and adaptation processes; it is necessary to favor the connection of these two aspects. Reforestation can play this dual role for forest ecosystems.

The sustainable and suitable ecological management of reforestation helps with pursuing adaptation responses, as it maintains the state of forests and guarantees ecosystem services, especially on a local scale, reducing vulnerability to climate change and biodiversity loss. Furthermore, it also helps with regulating water flow and water resources through their hydrological ecosystem services.

This Special Issue will provide carefully selected contributions on the state of the art regarding forest plantations across the world. It will explore the performances of sustainable forest plantations, including silvicultural techniques, forest operations, ecosystem services and the evaluation of the structural and mechanical stability of forest plantations.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Suitable management of conifer plantations;
  • Ecosystem services of forest plantations;
  • Effects of several thinnings or interventions in forest plantations;
  • Production and management of forest harvest residues;
  • Plantations and wood harvesting;
  • Structural and mechanical stability of forest plantations;
  • Modelling growth and wood production;
  • Forest plantations and biodiversity;
  • Wood quality of forest plantations.

Dr. Manuela Plutino
Dr. Andrea R. Proto
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.

Keywords

  • ecosystem services
  • sustainable forest management
  • suitable ecological management
  • conifer plantations
  • wood production
  • adaptation climate change
  • mitigation climate change
  • forest operations
  • wood quality

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.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 8792 KB  
Article
Long-Term Understory Rotary Tillage Incorporation Enhances Plain Plantation Growth by Synergistic Regulation of Soil and Microbial Properties
by Wenhao Liu, Lanying Zhang, Guimin Liu, Fubin Li, Xiwu Sun, Shuhan Guo, Xiaoyu Huo, Binbin Cheng, Zhenxiang Zhang, Kun Li and Chuanrong Li
Forests 2026, 17(2), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17020232 - 8 Feb 2026
Viewed by 415
Abstract
To investigate the effects of long-term continuous rotary tillage incorporation (RT) on Fraxinus chinensis Roxb. plantations, this study compared 7- and 15-year-old stands subjected to RT since afforestation with their non-tilled counterparts (CK). Results demonstrated that RT significantly enhanced tree growth by synergistically [...] Read more.
To investigate the effects of long-term continuous rotary tillage incorporation (RT) on Fraxinus chinensis Roxb. plantations, this study compared 7- and 15-year-old stands subjected to RT since afforestation with their non-tilled counterparts (CK). Results demonstrated that RT significantly enhanced tree growth by synergistically improving soil nutrient availability, physical properties, and microbial community structure and function: (1) Compared with CK, RT increased diameter at breast height (DBH) by 28.89% in 7-year-old stands and 22.58% in 15-year-old stands, and tree height by 19.51% in 7-year-old stands and 25.00% in 15-year-old stands; (2) RT increased contents of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP), rearranged the distribution patterns of soil particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), and reduced soil bulk density (BD) and soil water content (SWC); (3) RT regulated microbial diversity, co-occurrence networks, and carbohydrate-degrading gene abundances, with more prominent effects in 15-year-old stands. This tillage practice is feasible and effective, and thus is recommended for application in F. chinensis plantation management, providing a scientific basis for refined and sustainable plantation management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Suitable Ecological Management of Forest Plantation)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3389 KB  
Article
Reconciling Above- and Below-Ground Perspectives to Understand Ectomycorrhizal Community Diversity and Function
by Elena Salerni, Debora Barbato, Pamela Leonardi, Claudia Perini and Simona Maccherini
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1712; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111712 - 10 Nov 2025
Viewed by 522
Abstract
Forests sustain high levels of biodiversity and essential ecosystem services, yet the impact of management practices on below-ground functioning remains difficult to assess. A comprehensive evaluation of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal diversity is, therefore, required to better understand ecosystem dynamics. This study, conducted within [...] Read more.
Forests sustain high levels of biodiversity and essential ecosystem services, yet the impact of management practices on below-ground functioning remains difficult to assess. A comprehensive evaluation of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal diversity is, therefore, required to better understand ecosystem dynamics. This study, conducted within the SelpiBioLife project, examined ECM community structure in two Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold forests in central Italy by integrating above- and below-ground sampling. Across 108 plots, ECM fruiting bodies (EMFb) were recorded during one fruiting season, and 54 soil cores were collected to characterize ECM root tips (EMRt) through morpho-anatomical analyses and ITS sequencing. Species richness and community composition were compared using rarefaction, PERMANOVA, NMDS, Mantel tests, and SIMPER analysis. A total of 70 EMFb species and 54 EMRt morphotypes were identified, displaying significant differences between sites and sampling types. EMFb surveys revealed greater richness, whereas EMRt reached sampling saturation only at one site, suggesting additional hidden diversity. Distinct community patterns were detected in ordination space, and weak correlations emerged between EMFb and EMRt dissimilarities, indicating complementary ecological information. These findings show that single-method monitoring underrepresents ECM diversity. Combined above- and below-ground investigations provide a more accurate basis for evaluating silvicultural impacts and maintaining forest ecosystem resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Suitable Ecological Management of Forest Plantation)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop