Impact of Mycorrhiza on the Distribution, Dynamics and Functioning of Forests

Dear Colleagues,

The size of forests around the world is decreasing due to changes in agricultural land management and the climate. Meanwhile, mycorrhizal fungi play an important role in the restoration and function of forests. The mycorrhizal network connects trees of different species, ages and sizes to create a specific forest environment that provides the necessary water and nutrients for growth in response to environmental changes. This extensive network of trees and mycorrhizal fungi also facilitates the regeneration of younger trees in the understory, helping them tolerate stressful environmental conditions resulting, e.g., from abiotic and biotic factors. Moreover, mycorrhiza is of fundamental to the organization of new forests because they create favorable local conditions for the establishment and growth of tree seedlings. The aim of this Special Issue is to present selected articles regarding the impact of mycorrhiza on the distribution, dynamics and functioning of forests, which are a key symbiotic partner of trees; our understanding of this relationship must be enhanced in the face of future challenges related to forest protection, the mitigation of forest extinction and decline, and the migration of various tree species in the context of their adaptation to the effects of climate change.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Impact of mycorrhiza on the distribution of different tree species,
• The contribution of mycorrhizal networks to the distribution of tree seedlings in new areas for forest development,
• The role of mycorrhiza in the transport of water and nutrients between trees and the maintenance of carbon resources in forests,
• Correlation between the occurrence of mycorrhiza or the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi and the ability of tree species to migrate in response to climate change,
• The role of mycorrhizas in the functioning of forests in response to abiotic and biotic stresses,
• The factors influencing mycorrhiza that indirectly impact the dynamics and functioning of forests.

Dr. Dominika Thiem
Prof. Dr. Katarzyna Hrynkiewicz
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-anonymized 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.