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Forest Dieback, Tree Mortality Risks and Post-disturbance Resilience to Environmental...
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Forest Dieback, Tree Mortality Risks and Post-disturbance Resilience to Environmental Changes

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2025) | Viewed by 2213

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jesús Julio Camarero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: treeline ecotone; dendrochronology; wood anatomy; biodiversity & conservation; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Michele Colangelo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
Interests: forest dieback; environmental stress; climate change; quantitative wood anatomy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Most of the world’s forest ecosystems are subjected to a series of disturbances related to extreme climatic phenomena that determine their high vulnerability. The characterisation of declines in productivity and growth, searching for early signs of decay and assessing the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on forest health and growth have emerged as major challenges for the forest community.

Understanding triggers and mechanisms of such die-off events is crucial to assessing climate impacts and developing effective adaptation strategies.

We invite researchers to contribute to this Special Issue of the journal Forests focusing on ‘Forest Dieback, Tree Mortality Risks and Post-disturbance Resilience to Environmental Changes’ in order to promote knowledge on the drivers, patterns, mechanisms and consequences of these events, including the estimation of the resistance, resilience and recovery of forests in drought-prone areas.

Studies involving empirical, retrospective and prospective approaches and using multiple disciplines (ecophysiology, dendroecology, pathology, climatology, quantitative wood anatomy) and proxies of forest productivity and tree functioning (e.g., remote sensing, wood anatomy, stable isotopes, etc.) are welcome.

Dr. Jesús Julio Camarero
Dr. Michele Colangelo
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • climate change
  • extreme climatic events
  • disturbances
  • tree mortality
  • forest dieback
  • drought
  • tree growth
  • dendroecology
  • ecophysiology
  • remote sensing
  • wood anatomy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 2967 KB  
Article
Genetic Diversity and Risk of Non-Adaptedness in Natural North Moroccan and Planted South Spanish Atlas Cedar
by Belén Méndez-Cea, Isabel García-García, David Manso-Martínez, Juan Carlos Linares, Francisco Javier Gallego and Jose Luis Horreo
Forests 2025, 16(9), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091434 - 8 Sep 2025
Viewed by 285
Abstract
The Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica is a relict and endemic conifer from Morocco and Algeria, although plantations may be found in several locations aside from its natural range. Recurrent droughts have been widely related to Atlas cedar dieback, growth decline, and mortality, but [...] Read more.
The Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica is a relict and endemic conifer from Morocco and Algeria, although plantations may be found in several locations aside from its natural range. Recurrent droughts have been widely related to Atlas cedar dieback, growth decline, and mortality, but the genetic basis of potential adaptive capacity is unknown. We used the double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing technique (ddRAD-seq) to describe the genetic structure and variability of Atlas cedar along an aridity gradient in Morocco. Furthermore, we investigated the potential genetic origin of three Spanish plantations, also along an aridity gradient. The obtained single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to perform genotype–environment associations (GEAs) to define SNPs related to bioclimatic variables of temperature and precipitation. The vulnerability of this species to environmental variations was also estimated by its risk of non-adaptedness (RONA). Population structure showed a divergence between the Moroccan natural stands and some of the Spanish plantations, with each Moroccan nucleus being genetically distinct. The genetic variability was significantly lower in plantations than in natural populations. The drier Spanish plantations (easternmost) were genetically very similar to the driest Moroccan population (southernmost), suggesting that as its origin. A total of 41 loci under selection were obtained with the Moroccan dataset. In relation to temperature and precipitation variables, isothermality showed the highest number of associated loci (10) in GEA studies, and genotype–phenotype associations (GPAs) showed one locus associated with the Specific Leaf Area. RONA value was higher in the southernmost High Atlas population, where rising temperature was the main driver of expected genetic offset by allele frequency changes under the worst emissions scenario. In contrast, Spanish plantations would need smaller genetic changes to cope with the expected climate change. Likely gene flow from southern to northern areas suggests a latitudinal heading, where Spanish plantations might operate as an assisted migration. Moreover, one locus showed a northern/southern pattern in saplings but not in adults, suggesting a potential latitudinal pattern of selection. Our results are discussed on the basis of their management and conservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Dieback, Tree Mortality Risks and Post-disturbance Resilience to Environmental Changes)
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21 pages, 5672 KB  
Article
Modeling Tree Mortality Induced by Climate Change-Driven Drought: A Case Study of Korean Fir in the Subalpine Forests of Jirisan National Park, South Korea
by Wontaek Lim, Hong-Chul Park, Sinyoung Park, Jeong-Wook Seo, Jinwon Kim and Dongwook W. Ko
Forests 2025, 16(1), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16010084 - 6 Jan 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1203
Abstract
Increased drought frequency due to climate change is intensifying tree mortality, a critical issue in forest ecosystem management, especially in vulnerable subalpine ecosystems. Korean fir (Abies koreana E.H. Wilson), an endemic species of South Korea that grows in subalpine areas, is threatened [...] Read more.
Increased drought frequency due to climate change is intensifying tree mortality, a critical issue in forest ecosystem management, especially in vulnerable subalpine ecosystems. Korean fir (Abies koreana E.H. Wilson), an endemic species of South Korea that grows in subalpine areas, is threatened by climate change-induced drought. However, our understanding of drought’s impact on tree mortality, particularly its seasonal and legacy effects, remains limited. To better understand drought-related mortality of Korean fir, we conducted annual mortality surveys, starting in 2012, at 10 fixed transects in Jirisan National Park, identified seasonal and legacy effects using redundancy analysis, and modeled Korean fir mortality, incorporating biotic and abiotic factors, using random forests. We found that early growing season drought had the greatest impact on Korean fir mortality, with legacy effects extending up to three years, while late growing season drought affected mortality only in the previous year. The mortality model achieved high predictive accuracy (94%) and revealed significant site- and size-dependent mortality patterns. These findings provide critical insights into the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors affecting tree mortality and offer valuable guidance for conservation strategies aimed at preserving climate-sensitive species in the face of ongoing climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Dieback, Tree Mortality Risks and Post-disturbance Resilience to Environmental Changes)
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