Exploring Biodiversity and Its Relationship with Forests

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 July 2026 | Viewed by 522

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Guest Editor
Department of Zoology and Nature Protection, Institute of Biological Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland
Interests: morphology; ecology and taxonomy of beetles
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests represent one of the richest reservoirs of biodiversity among all terrestrial ecosystems. In an era marked by accelerating environmental degradation and rapid loss of natural resources, comprehensive and multidisciplinary research on forest ecosystems is more critical than ever. This Special Issue seeks to bring together cutting-edge studies that advance our understanding of forest biodiversity and support the conservation and sustainable management of forest habitats.

Scope and Topics of Interest

We invite original research articles, methodological papers, case studies, reviews, and syntheses related to (but not limited to) the following themes:

- Methodological advances in assessing species diversity in forest environments

- Phylogenetic and taxonomic research revealing hidden or cryptic biodiversity in forest ecosystems

- Ecological studies focused on the protection, resilience, and functioning of forest ecosystems

- Long-term trends in forest species composition, especially with respect to human activity, land-use change, and climate change;

- Invasive species and their ecological impacts on native forest biota and ecosystem processes

Priority Areas

Priority will be given to submissions that address:

  • naturally valuable or unique forest areas;
  • protected or legally significant species;
  • species threatened with extinction;
  • work with strong conservation or policy relevance.

Prof. Dr. Rafal Gosik
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

  • forest biodiversity
  • biodiversity
  • invasive species
  • invertebrate groups
  • forest entomology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 8457 KB  
Article
An Integrated Assessment of Legume Species Diversity and Soil Characteristics in Upper Amazonian Protected Forests
by Winston Franz Ríos-Ruiz, Marvin Barrera-Lozano, Juan Carlos Guerrero-Abad, Lily O. Rodríguez, Roger Cabrera-Carranza, Llimi Mori-Sánchez and Marco Antonio Nogueira
Forests 2026, 17(3), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030393 - 23 Mar 2026
Viewed by 298
Abstract
Legumes (Fabaceae) are key functional components of tropical forests due to their role in nitrogen fixation and nutrient cycling. This study provides an integrated assessment of forest legume diversity and its relationship with soil physicochemical properties across three protected areas in the Peruvian [...] Read more.
Legumes (Fabaceae) are key functional components of tropical forests due to their role in nitrogen fixation and nutrient cycling. This study provides an integrated assessment of forest legume diversity and its relationship with soil physicochemical properties across three protected areas in the Peruvian upper Amazon: the Alto Mayo Protected Forest (BPAM), the Cordillera Escalera Regional Conservation Area (ACR-CE), and the Shunté and Mishollo Forests Regional Conservation Area (ACR-BOSHUMI). Floristic studies were conducted in nine sectors ranging from 618 to 1729 m a.s.l. Soil samples were analyzed, and vegetation cover was quantified using high-resolution drone imagery with four vegetation indices derived from RGB data. We recorded eleven legume species from eight genera within the sampling plots, identifying Inga as the most frequent genus. Species diversity was highest in the ACR-CE, whereas BPAM showed lower richness and abundance. Multivariate analyses revealed that legume diversity was positively associated with higher soil pH, cation concentrations, and cation exchange capacity, but negatively associated with elevated Al3+ and Fe3+ levels. Vegetation indices effectively distinguished between vegetated and degraded areas, indicating higher legume occurrence in sites with greater canopy cover. These findings emphasize that soil fertility and vegetation structure are key drivers of legume diversity, with significant implications for conservation in the upper Amazon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Biodiversity and Its Relationship with Forests)
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