Forest, Foods and Nutrition

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue addresses our understanding of the intersection of forests, food, and nutrition. Forest ecosystems represent a biodiverse environment resource of species.  Forests and trees play an important role in food production and nutrition. Plants and animals in forests provide nutrient-rich food sources and can make important contributions to dietary diversity, quality, and quantity. Forest foods improve the taste and palatability of staples.

The main topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

-The implementation of sustainable forest management: the optimisation of yields of wild foods and fodder;

-The expansion of agricultural forest landscapes: the new aspect of sustainable agriculture. Reimaging forests as a new set of ecosystems for support sustainable food production;

-Edible and non-edible forest products: an update overview, classification, and cataloguing is welcome;

-Studies on the valorization of foods from forests will be designated. The nutritional value of forest foods. The chemical composition of foods from forests: the identification, isolation, and quantification of nutrients and bioactive components. The elucidation of the main components and an assessment of their interactions, by paying attention to factors, i.e. cultivar, the soil, weather, and topography;

-Conventional and non-conventional extraction procedures, with attention paid to green technologies. Emerging analytical techniques, i.e., infrared spectroscopy, multi-elemental analysis, isotopic ratio mass spectrometry, and nanotechnologies, coupled with chemometrics, are welcome;

-Biologically active extracts and functional components from forest products for uses and applications in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic sectors;

-The nutritional implications of forests and trees: the benefits of forest products. The contribution of forest foods and a healthy diet. The role of forests in human nutrition. Nutrient-rich forest foods to complement one’s diet;

-Forest foods for food security: the contribution of wild and forest foods to nutrient intake among local communities;

-The elucidation of the role of forests for food security and nutrition. The social and economic impact will be designed.

Dr. Alessandra Durazzo
Dr. Massimo Lucarini
Dr. Massimo Zaccardelli
Prof. Dr. Antonello Santini
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.