Forest Ecosystem Dynamics, Carbon-Nitrogen Cycling and Environmental Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Forest Ecosystems are fundamental components of the Earth system, playing a pivotal role in regulating the global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles while serving as critical interfaces for addressing environmental challenges such as climate change and ecosystem degradation. Understanding the complex interactions among ecosystem dynamics, strategies for enhancing carbon sinks, and the mechanisms of C–N biogeochemical coupling is essential not only for improving predictions of ecosystem responses to global change but also for guiding sustainable management practices (e.g., forest/restoration ecology, pollution control) and supporting national/global carbon accounting and climate mitigation goals.

This Special Issue explores the interdisciplinary connections between forest ecosystem dynamics and environmental science, with a focus on:

(1) The coupled processes driving ecosystem structure and function (e.g., plant–soil–microbe interactions, energy and material fluxes) across spatial and temporal scales;

(2) Pathways and practices for enhancing carbon sinks (e.g., reforestation, soil carbon sequestration, wetland restoration) and their integration with ecosystem resilience;

(3) The mechanisms and management implications of C–N cycling, including how nutrient dynamics interact with carbon fluxes, influence ecosystem services (e.g., water purification, greenhouse gas regulation), and respond to natural or human-induced disturbances (e.g., pollution, land-use change).

We welcome original research and reviews that leverage diverse methods (field observations, remote sensing, manipulative experiments, meta-analyses, and modeling) to advance mechanistic understanding. Studies may span natural ecosystems (e.g., forests, forest wetland systems), with a shared goal of supporting evidence-based ecosystem management, restoring degraded environments, and informing climate mitigation and environmental sustainability strategies.

Dr. Yibo Li
Dr. Guoyong Yan
Prof. Dr. Qinggui Wang
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.