Deadwood Decomposition and Its Impact on Forest Soil
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 69
Special Issue Editors
Interests: carbon and nitrogen cycle; forest ecology; litter and wood decomposition
Interests: forest ecosystem structure and function; degraded ecosystem vegetation restoration; soil and water conservation; urban forest; forest health care
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In forest ecosystems, the natural death of trees during their growth process, as well as death, lodging, breakage, and various natural or human disturbances (such as logging), can all lead to the formation of deadwood. Deadwood is the structural and functional unit of forest ecosystems, playing an important role in carbon cycling and balance. Some 44% of the world's forest carbon is stored in soil, 42% in live biomass, 8% in deadwood, and 5% in litter. Deadwood is therefore an important component of forest ecosystem carbon pools, and the decomposition of deadwood is of great significance to the forest carbon cycle. This decomposition is a complex ecological process that is influenced by a series of environmental factors (temperature, water, light, and nutrient deposition), substrate characteristics, and biological communities, which cannot be separated from their interactions with soil. However, further exploration is needed regarding the driving factors of the decomposition process of deadwood and its impact on the physicochemical processes in the soil. This Special Issue will keep researchers and other stakeholders on the cutting edge of the latest developments in the field of deadwood decomposition and its impact on forest soils, and those interested in this topic are welcome to collaborate and share their more recent results in this field.
Dr. Chunsheng Wu
Prof. Dr. Yuanqiu Liu
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
- coarse woody debris
- deadwood
- fallen trees
- fallen wood
- soil microbes
- soil fauna
- tree traits
- soil characteristics
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
