Next-Generation Forest Management in Silvopastoral Mosaics
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2027 | Viewed by 36
Editors
Interests: ecosystem services; life cycle assessment; soil health; regenerative agriculture; regenerative livestock
Interests: forest management; climate change; dendrochronology; quantitative wood anatomy; forest fires
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: soil and forest ecology, socio-ecological systems; soil quality and health; GIS and remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Silvopastoral mosaics represent some of the most valuable multifunctional landscapes worldwide, integrating trees, soil, and livestock, while offering vital climate change buffers and providing several ecosystem services. These landscapes play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, wildfire risk mitigation, soil protection, water regulation, and the preservation of cultural heritage and rural livelihoods. However, in recent decades, managing these complex landscapes under escalating environmental pressures and socio-economic transformation requires innovative, next-generation strategies. Particularly, understanding soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, adaptive grazing, and vegetation structures is crucial for enhancing carbon sequestration, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and sustaining biodiversity. Current advances in remote sensing, artificial intelligence, precision agri-forestry, IoT systems, and life cycle assessments are technology/innovation transferability elements that provide decision-support tools to improve the planning, monitoring, and management of silvopastoral landscapes across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
This Special Issue aims to explore sustainable management, climate-smart adaptation, and ecological dynamics within silvopastoral systems and beyond. We welcome original research, comprehensive reviews, technical notes, communications, and case studies encompassing, but not confined to, the following research topics:
- Adaptive and regenerative grazing strategies in mixed woodlands and grasslands;
- Soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics;
- Carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas mitigation;
- LCA integration using field, laboratory, and modelling data;
- Socio-ecological resilience, climate policies, and ecosystem services/valuation frameworks;
- Biomass monitoring, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem regeneration dynamics;
- Nature-based solutions for multifunctional landscapes
- Remote sensing, UAVs, LiDAR, and Earth observation applications;
- Soil and water conservation in forested landscapes;
- Socio-economic dimensions of forest management and rural development;
- Policy frameworks, governance, and stakeholder engagement.
Dr. Hafiz Khuzama Ishaq
Dr. Francesco Niccoli
Guest Editors
Dr. Luigi Marfella
Guest Editor Assistant
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
- silvopastoral systems
- agro-silvo-pastoral management
- climate-smart forestry
- adaptive grazing management
- soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamic
- ecosystem services and valuation
- greenhouse gas mitigation
- climate change adaptation and resilience
- socio-ecological–economic systems
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