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Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and...
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Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice

A Special Issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907) belonging to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2026) | Viewed by 7244

Editors

Dr. Griet An Erica Cuyckens

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Salvador de Jujuy C.P. 4600, Argentina
Interests: restoration; conservation; species distribution modelling; forest ecology; community ecology
Dr. Guillermo Martinez-Pastur

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ushuaia 9410, Argentina
Interests: forest ecology; forest management; ecosystem services; landscape ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests worldwide face unprecedented challenges, including climate change, habitat degradation, and biodiversity loss, emphasizing the urgent need for effective restoration and conservation strategies. In response to global initiatives like the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, researchers and practitioners are advancing innovative solutions to restore forest ecosystems and enhance their resilience. This Special Issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research and applied practices in forest restoration and conservation. We welcome contributions that address theoretical frameworks, empirical studies, and practical applications across diverse forest ecosystems, from tropical to boreal regions. Submissions may include experimental studies, meta-analyses, policy assessments, and interdisciplinary approaches that explore the intersection of ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable forest management.

Key Topics:

  • Restoration techniques for degraded forest ecosystems;
  • Biodiversity conservation;
  • Ecosystem services and soil restoration;
  • Climate change;
  • Community engagement in forest restoration projects;
  • Advances in monitoring, modeling, and digital tools.

This Special Issue provides a platform to share innovative research and foster dialog between scientists, practitioners, and policymakers working towards sustainable forest management and ecosystem recovery.

Dr. Griet An Erica Cuyckens
Dr. Guillermo Martinez-Pastur
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.

Keywords

  • forest restoration
  • biodiversity conservation
  • climate change
  • habitat degradation
  • sustainable forest management
  • UN decade on ecosystem restoration
  • applied conservation
  • restoration strategies
  • ecological restoration
  • experimental studies
  • meta-analyses

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 21297 KB  
Article
Digital Morphometric Phenotyping of Genipa americana Seeds: Post-Germinative Root-Development Classification and Seed-Lot Morphometric Differentiation
by Akinmola Solomon Morebise, Hans Richie Tchouckoua Nana, Samuel Ribeiro de Azevedo, Claudemir Mota da Cruz and Rafael Marani Barbosa
Forests 2026, 17(7), 786; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17070786 - 2 Jul 2026
Viewed by 501
Abstract
This study evaluated whether image-derived morphometric descriptors can support two complementary tasks: germination-performance classification and seed-lot-level phenotypic differentiation in Genipa americana L. Seed images were acquired from eight collection localities in southern Bahia State, Brazil, comprising 16 seed lots and approximately 16,000 initially [...] Read more.
This study evaluated whether image-derived morphometric descriptors can support two complementary tasks: germination-performance classification and seed-lot-level phenotypic differentiation in Genipa americana L. Seed images were acquired from eight collection localities in southern Bahia State, Brazil, comprising 16 seed lots and approximately 16,000 initially imaged seeds. Primary and derived morphometric descriptors were extracted from digital images and used as predictors in Random Forest (RF) and Linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers. After data curation, the final analytical dataset comprised 15,513 seeds. RF achieved a higher cross-validated F1-score than SVM (0.780±0.007 versus 0.621±0.053), but independent test-set performance was moderate and comparable between models. RF and Linear SVM achieved accuracies of 0.74 and 0.75, respectively, with PR-AUC values of 0.649 and 0.671. PCA indicated that the first two components explained 98.9% of total morphometric variance, and MANOVA confirmed a significant seed-lot effect (Wilks’ λ=0.84, p<0.001). Critically, under Leave-One-Locality-Out cross-validation, mean macro-F1 fell to (0.46±0.04) and balanced accuracy to (0.50±0.01), indistinguishable from chance, indicating that random-split performance largely reflects locality-specific patterns rather than a transferable germination signal. These findings indicate that external morphometric descriptors provide a moderate within-distribution predictive signal under random seed-level partitioning, but this signal is not transferable to unseen localities. Digital morphometric phenotyping should therefore be regarded primarily as a low-cost component of native seed–lot characterization and locally calibrated preliminary screening, especially when combined with complementary physiological, internal-imaging, environmental, or genetic information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
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14 pages, 1665 KB  
Article
Reproductive Investment Across Native and Invasive Regions in Pittosporum undulatum Vent., a Range Expanding Gynodioecious Tree
by Ben O’Leary, Martin Burd, Susanna Venn and Roslyn M. Gleadow
Forests 2026, 17(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010072 - 5 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1630
Abstract
The success of invasive species relies heavily on the production, dispersal and genetic composition of propagules. For range expanding species, breeding strategy and level of reproductive investment will strongly influence their capacity to establish and invade new areas. A hermaphroditic lifestyle provides the [...] Read more.
The success of invasive species relies heavily on the production, dispersal and genetic composition of propagules. For range expanding species, breeding strategy and level of reproductive investment will strongly influence their capacity to establish and invade new areas. A hermaphroditic lifestyle provides the advantage of increasing the number of seed bearing individuals within a population while a dioecious habit may enable more rapid adaptation to new environments, improve resource use efficiency, fecundity and dispersal. Pittosporum undulatum, a tree native to coastal areas of southeastern Australia, has many characteristics of an invasive species within and beyond its native range. A previous study detected a male bias within invasive populations, with a high proportion of fruit deriving from female-only trees, leading to recommendations for the removal of ‘matriarch’ trees as a simple management technique. We expanded that study and investigated breeding systems of different populations of P. undulatum by assessing tree density, gender, resource availability and fruit load of 871 individuals in seven native and seven invasive populations. All populations comprised either females (47%) or hermaphrodites. No male-only trees were observed within the study. More females produced more fruit than hermaphrodites, especially in the native site. This could not be attributed to environmental differences between sites. These data support the current management practices of targeting the removal of females as a simple method for containing invasions given the benefits of reducing the workload and spreading limited management resource. Our work highlights the value in understanding the breeding strategy employed by focal invasive species as a means of developing improved and more targeted control methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
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14 pages, 863 KB  
Article
Planting Native Herbaceous Species During Land Reclamation: 3-Year Growth Response to Soil Type and Competing Vegetation
by Camille Chartrand-Pleau, Dani Degenhardt and Amanda Schoonmaker
Forests 2025, 16(9), 1442; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091442 - 10 Sep 2025
Viewed by 878
Abstract
In forest land reclamation, revegetation efforts often focus on restoring tree composition, while the recovery of the understory vegetation community is typically left to natural regeneration. This regeneration relies mainly on wind-dispersed seeds, ingress from adjacent intact forests, or seed emergence from stockpiled [...] Read more.
In forest land reclamation, revegetation efforts often focus on restoring tree composition, while the recovery of the understory vegetation community is typically left to natural regeneration. This regeneration relies mainly on wind-dispersed seeds, ingress from adjacent intact forests, or seed emergence from stockpiled surface soils. We examined the growth and survival of nursery-propagated, field-planted native herbaceous forbs on a reclaimed industrial site where topsoil placement depth was varied to manipulate soil nutrient availability and levels of competing vegetation. A pre-emergent herbicide was applied to half of the standard topsoil plots to assess the impact of ruderal vegetation competition. We addressed the following two questions: (1) How does placed topsoil depth affect the growth and survival of native forbs? We hypothesized that deeper topsoil (higher nutrient availability) would enhance growth but reduce survival due to increased competition. (2) Does competing ruderal vegetation negatively affect survival and/or growth? We hypothesized that competition would reduce growth in all species, but that Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) would show greater resilience due to its pioneering nature. The results showed that S. canadensis exhibited consistently high growth and survival across all topsoil treatments, confirming its competitive advantage. Showy aster (Eurybia conspicua (Lindl.) G.L.Nesom) survival remained high during no-topsoil and shallow-topsoil treatments, with reductions under standard-depth topsoil linked to increased competition. Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.) survival varied but tended to be higher in no-topsoil and shallow-topsoil conditions. These findings suggest that certain native forbs can thrive across a range of soil conditions, and that Canada goldenrod, in particular, is a strong candidate for revegetation programs where competition from ruderal vegetation is a concern. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
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14 pages, 2286 KB  
Article
Effect of Differential Growth Dynamics Among Dominant Species Regulates Species Diversity in Subtropical Forests: Empirical Evidence from the Mass Ratio Hypothesis
by Zhangtian You, Pengfei Wu, Emily Patience Bakpa, Lifu Zhang, Lianyao Ji and Shuisheng You
Forests 2025, 16(8), 1357; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16081357 - 21 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1514
Abstract
The Mass Ratio Hypothesis states that the growth dynamics of dominant species influence forest species diversity by regulating the niches of subordinate and transient species. However, this prediction has not yet been empirical confirmed in subtropical forests over long term. Using data from [...] Read more.
The Mass Ratio Hypothesis states that the growth dynamics of dominant species influence forest species diversity by regulating the niches of subordinate and transient species. However, this prediction has not yet been empirical confirmed in subtropical forests over long term. Using data from 1995 to 2017, we examined how dominant tree species regulate species evenness and richness by analyzing their height and diameter growth in three clear-cut forests (Castanopsis carlesii (Hemsl.) Hayata, Castanopsis fissa (Champ. ex Benth.) Rehder & E. H. Wilson, and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. stands), combined with the mean value of species niche breadth (measures the diversity of resources a species utilizes) across the community, including separate analyzes for subordinate (persistently coexisting with dominants species) and transient species (temporarily occurring species). Our results showed that an increase in height and diameter growth of dominant species had a negative effect on niche breadth of subordinate species, which in turn reduced species evenness (p < 0.01) but showed no significant relationship with species richness (p ≥ 0.05). Growth dynamics of dominants had no significant influence on the niche breadth of transient species. The early-fast growing dominant C. lanceolata significantly restricted the niche breadth of subordinate species (1.16 ± 0.23), resulting in relatively low evenness (0.49 ± 0.11). Conversely, the late-fast growing dominant C. carlesii promoted niche expansion (6.62 ± 1.20), resulting in higher evenness (0.81 ± 0.02). C. fissa -dominated strands with intermediate growth increments, exhibited moderate species evenness. These findings provide long-term empirical support for the Mass Ratio Hypothesis by demonstrating that growths of dominant species modulate niche partitioning in subordinates and thereby shape species diversity in subtropical forest communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
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18 pages, 6347 KB  
Article
Limited Impacts of Activated Carbon and Mycorrhizal Amendments for Pinus echinata Reforestation on Strip-Mined Soils
by Casey Iwamoto, Courtney Siegert, Joshua J. Granger, Krishna P. Poudel, Adam Polinko and Zachary B. Freedman
Forests 2025, 16(8), 1316; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16081316 - 12 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1200
Abstract
Strip mining creates widespread degraded landscapes that have low soil pH, high bulk density, impacted hydrologic processes, and an accumulation of heavy metals that limit revegetation efforts. To improve soil conditions and restoration success, soil amendments paired with native trees provide a potential [...] Read more.
Strip mining creates widespread degraded landscapes that have low soil pH, high bulk density, impacted hydrologic processes, and an accumulation of heavy metals that limit revegetation efforts. To improve soil conditions and restoration success, soil amendments paired with native trees provide a potential solution. However, limited empirical studies have been conducted on the success of soil amendments to facilitate shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) growth in the southeastern US. To fill this knowledge gap, a field trial was established on a reclaimed coal-mined site. Shortleaf pine seedlings were planted in a complete randomized block design with two soil amendment treatments: activated carbon and mycorrhizal inoculation, applied at a rate of 3.36 g/m2 and 42.5 g per tree, respectively. Soil treatment did not impact tree survival which concluded with a 69 ± 3% (mean ± standard error) survival rate. Activated carbon increased soil electrical conductivity (p = 0.037) and the mycorrhizal amendment led to increased soil Ca content (p = 0.004). After the first growing season, trees in the mycorrhizal-amended soil were 12% shorter (p = 0.016) than trees in the activated carbon treatment. While soil amendment resulted in minimal improvements to soil parameters, shortleaf pine was found to be an effective species choice for post-mined site reforestation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
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Review

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25 pages, 12093 KB  
Review
The Role, Issues, and Challenges of Afforestation in Climate Change Mitigation
by Qumei Wang, Qiang Zhu, Wei Liu and Zongqiang Chang
Forests 2026, 17(9), 1013; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17091013 - 26 Aug 2026
Viewed by 341
Abstract
Afforestation can contribute to climate-change mitigation when tree establishment is matched to ecological context and sustained by long-term management, but its net climatic effect is not uniformly cooling. Existing syntheses often emphasize carbon sequestration while treating biophysical, hydrological, disturbance, and socioeconomic evidence separately. [...] Read more.
Afforestation can contribute to climate-change mitigation when tree establishment is matched to ecological context and sustained by long-term management, but its net climatic effect is not uniformly cooling. Existing syntheses often emphasize carbon sequestration while treating biophysical, hydrological, disturbance, and socioeconomic evidence separately. Here, we provide a structured integrative review. We distinguish afforestation from reforestation, natural regeneration, forest restoration, and improved management. We explicitly assess evidence from global modeling, remote sensing, meta-analyses, long-term observations, and regional case studies. Global forests cover about 4.14 billion ha in 2025, while annual net forest loss remained about 4.12 million ha yr−1 during 2015–2025. Global forests were a sink of about 3.5 ± 0.4 Pg C yr−1 in the 2010s, but this existing-forest sink should not be interpreted as an afforestation-specific removal rate. Humid tropical and subtropical regions generally have the greatest potential for net climatic cooling. In contrast, afforestation at snow-covered high latitudes may cause substantial albedo-driven warming, while water-limited regions require careful species selection and conservative planting densities. Soil carbon gains are most consistent on former croplands and other low-carbon degraded lands, but responses on carbon-rich grasslands are highly variable. Long-term benefits further depend on disturbance resilience, permanence, land competition, financing, and credible monitoring. Additionally, we identify five priorities for the future: climate-smart adaptive silviculture, digital forestry with field-calibrated uncertainty, permanence and disturbance-risk accounting, sustainable forest bioeconomy, and integrated international governance and finance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
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