Growing the Urban Forest: Building Our Understanding
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Forestry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2026 | Viewed by 1034
Special Issue Editor
Interests: invasive species; integrated pest management; forest conservation; trees; tree ecology; insect plant interactions; tree growth; human behavior; urban forestry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Interest in a better understanding of the range of both the values and challenges that urban trees provide and experience continues its ascent, globally, and to derive benefits (e.g., esthetic/economic values, shade, carbon storage/sequestration, fruit crops, human health considerations, biodiversity, and wildlife habitat), trees must establish and mature in size. Urban trees face many difficult conditions that include construction pressures/injury, pests, and challenges related to climate change. Among each of these areas, important knowledge gaps remain.
For this Special Issue, we encourage submissions related to the formal exploration of these topics that include—but are not limited to—theoretical, empirical, and modeling investigations that employ quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methodologies related to the following:
- Evaluation of the esthetic or economic contributions of trees;
- Tree function and/or performance (growth, survival, mortality, and morbidity) assessment in densely populated settings;
- Understanding of human health considerations and benefits related to trees;
- Techniques related to protecting and utilizing trees, wood, and wood products in urban settings;
- Assessment of factors that inhibit tree performance (pests, construction activities, climate change);
- Applications of new or emerging technologies.
We hope that this Special Issue provides a forum for novel insights that will advance our understanding of urban trees and their affiliated benefits to people and the landscape around them.
Prof. Dr. Richard W. Harper
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 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
- urban forestry
- tree growth
- tree survival
- human health
- aesthetic values
- heat island
- carbon storage/sequestration
- wood usage
- fruit crops
- biodiversity
- wildlife habitat
- economic contributions
- pests
- construction
- climate change
- UAS and new technologies
- 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.
- 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.
