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Forests
Special Issues
Decision Analysis and Optimal Strategies for Forest Operations and Management
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Decision Analysis and Optimal Strategies for Forest Operations and Management

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 1379

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Salvatore F. Papandrea

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agraria, University of Reggio Calabria, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Interests: forest operations; timber harvesting systems; bioenergy; logistics; ergonomics & safety; time & motion studies; productivity study; optimization; artificial intelligence; recovery of waste wood material
Dr. Stanimir Stoilov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Technologies and Mechanization of Forestry, Faculty of Forestry, University of Forestry, 10, Kliment Ohridski Blvd., 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: wood and biomass supply chain optimization; sensor technology; transport optimization; forest planning; timber harvesting systems
Dr. Andrea R. Proto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agraria, University of Reggio Calabria, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Interests: wood technology; wood quality; forest operations; timber harvesting; performance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last two decades, sustainable forest management (SFM) has already been expanded to a multifunctional perspective, following social progress to favor soil and water protection, biodiversity, and climate aspects. In this context, forestry has been several steps ahead, accumulating a wealth of experience regarding the application of the SFM principles. Recently, increasing demand for forest products has been improving the profitability of valid forest management, which will have long-lasting positive effects on forest resources. In the case of wood, traditional uses like building materials, furniture, or packaging will be complemented by new products emerging from technological developments driven by bio-based economies. In forestry operations, the sustainability concepts with their principles and environmental indicators are based on using forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, and vitality.

This Special Issue aims to welcome contributions related to Decision Analysis and Optimal Strategies for Forest Operations and Management. Review and research papers are suitable contributions. In particular, contributions covering the following sub-topics are welcome: innovative machines or work methods; technology developments applied to forest operations management, monitoring, or control; life cycle and other sustainability analyses of these activities; safety improvements regarding work techniques, tools, and machines; analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts caused by machinery in forest operations; and finally, assessment of wood quality in the forest wood supply chain through the development of Non-Destructive Technologies (NDTs) capable of predicting the intrinsic properties of wood from individual standing trees to the final product.

Dr. Salvatore F. Papandrea
Dr. Stanimir Stoilov
Dr. Andrea R. Proto
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

  • forest operations
  • sustainability
  • wood
  • fuel consumption
  • life cycle analysis
  • bioenergy policy
  • advanced monitoring systems
  • mechanization
  • green logistics
  • sustainable transportation

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

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 2340 KiB  
Article
Restoring Soil Features and Biodiversity Indicators in Managed Forests to the Levels of Protected Forests: After One Silvicultural Rotation Period
by Farzam Tavankar, Rodolfo Picchio, Rachele Venanzi, Francesco Latterini and Mehrdad Nikooy
Forests 2025, 16(2), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16020274 - 6 Feb 2025
Viewed by 596
Abstract
This study examines the provision of ecosystem services in natural mixed broadleaf forests located in the Hyrcanian region of Iran. These services include habitat conservation, soil preservation, timber production, and carbon storage (C-stock). The forests are managed under three different silvicultural methods: shelterwood, [...] Read more.
This study examines the provision of ecosystem services in natural mixed broadleaf forests located in the Hyrcanian region of Iran. These services include habitat conservation, soil preservation, timber production, and carbon storage (C-stock). The forests are managed under three different silvicultural methods: shelterwood, selection cutting, and protection, allowing for a comparative analysis of their impact on these critical services. The time since the last cutting operation varied among the forest stands. In the shelterwood stand, 25 years had passed since the previous operation, while in the selection cutting stand, it had been 13 years. In contrast, the protected stand had remained untouched by logging for the past 40 years. This presents a valuable opportunity to assess the effects of the recovery period and evaluate the extent of ecosystem service restoration. Additionally, it allows for determining whether these services have reached the levels observed in a protected forest. The results show that habitat conservation, soil preservation, and carbon stock (C-stock) values ranked as follows: protection > selection cutting > shelterwood. In contrast, timber production values were highest under selection cutting, followed by shelterwood, and lowest in protected areas. Furthermore, the Stand Structural Complexity Index (SCI) was greatest in protected stands, with selection cutting and shelterwood-managed stands ranking second and third, respectively. Similarly, species diversity indices, the abundance of large-diameter trees, and the volume of deadwood followed this same trend. These findings highlight a trade-off in forest management practices. While selection cutting and shelterwood management simplify stand structure to enhance timber production and maximize economic returns, they also lead to a significant reduction in other critical forest ecosystem services. Our findings further revealed that, even decades after the cessation of forest operations, the ecological value of previously managed forests remains substantially lower than that of protected forests. Moreover, the results demonstrate that a single silvicultural rotation period is insufficient to fully restore the ecological value of managed forests, regardless of whether they were subjected to selection cutting or shelterwood management practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decision Analysis and Optimal Strategies for Forest Operations and Management)
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