The Role of Spatial Analysis in Planning Multi-Functional Forest Roads and Transport Routes

Dear Colleagues,

Forestry management is an important component of sustainable land use, which aims to provide economic, environmental, and social benefits. Forest roads and the planning of optimal transport routes are crucial in facilitating access to forest resources, enabling the transportation of forest products and workers and supporting conservation efforts. However, the development and use of forest roads can also negatively impact the environment, leading to soil erosion, habitat fragmentation, and an increased fire risk. Therefore, planning and managing forest roads and transport routes in a way that balances their various functions is essential.

In recent years, spatial analysis has emerged as a cutting-edge research area for planning and managing forest roads and transport routes. This involves using geographic information systems (GIS) and other geospatial tools to analyze spatial data and make informed decisions about the location and design of forest roads and optimization of transport routes, considering the various functions they serve, such as transportation, conservation, protection and recreation.

This topic explores spatial analysis's role in planning multi-functional forest roads and transport routes. The scope of this topic includes various aspects of forest road planning and management, including road location, design, construction, and maintenance, as well as the use of geospatial tools for analyzing and visualizing forest road data. It aims to provide insights into how spatial analysis can balance these functions and minimize the negative environmental impacts of forest roads.

Dr. Kruno Lepoglavec
Dr. Hrvoje Nevečerel
Dr. Anton Poje
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.