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Forests
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Litter Decomposition and Soil Nutrient Cycling in Forests
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Litter Decomposition and Soil Nutrient Cycling in Forests

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2026 | Viewed by 3443

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shengqiang Wang

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Guest Editor
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Interests: soil nutrient
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ziliang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, No. 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an 710000, China
Interests: ecosystem
Prof. Dr. Yili Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Karst Terrain, Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin 541006, China
Interests: biodiversity; ecosystem structure and function; restoration ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest litter decomposition is a key link between plants and soil and plays a vital role in nutrient cycling. The organic matter in litter is decomposed by microorganisms and releases nutrient elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which re-enter the soil for plant absorption and utilization and maintain the material circulation and energy flow of the forest ecosystem. The decomposition rate of litter is affected by litter quality, microbial activity, environmental conditions, and other factors, which, in turn, affect the efficiency and quantity of nutrient release. Litter decomposition and nutrient cycling are interdependent to maintain the balance and productivity of forest ecosystems. Research on the relationship between the two is helpful to understand the function of forest ecosystems, predict the impact of global change, and provide scientific basis for sustainable forest management.

Therefore, this Special Issue will bring together important research on litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling in forests, including the following: (1) the mechanisms by which climate change affects litter decomposition processes; (2) the comparative study of litter decomposition characteristics of different forest types; (3) the relationship between soil biocommunity structure and litter decomposition function; and (4) the response and adaptation mechanisms to litter decomposition under human disturbance.

Dr. Shengqiang Wang
Dr. Ziliang Zhang
Prof. Dr. Yili Guo
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-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

  • soil organic carbon
  • soil nutrients
  • litter decomposition

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5001 KB  
Article
Degradative Activity of Five Basidiomycota Strains on Sweet Chestnut Wood
by Livio Torta, Vito Armando Laudicina, Sara Paliaga, Marika Lamendola, Patrizia Cancemi, Andrea Laschi and Luigi Badalucco
Forests 2026, 17(4), 451; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17040451 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 358
Abstract
Basidiomycetes can colonize sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill) xylem, causing white or brown rot and losses in wood quality. The aim of this study was to assess the degradative potential of five Basidiomycota strains (Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm. (Am), Fistulina [...] Read more.
Basidiomycetes can colonize sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill) xylem, causing white or brown rot and losses in wood quality. The aim of this study was to assess the degradative potential of five Basidiomycota strains (Armillaria mellea (Vahl) P. Kumm. (Am), Fistulina hepatica (Shaeff.) With. (Fh), and Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill (Ls), and two strains of Ganoderma resinaceum Boud.) on three chestnut woods differing in chemistry. The woods differed in nitrogen content (0.3%–1.0%), carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio (43–150), and phenolic-related traits. In a 39-day laboratory assay, the five fungal strains were inoculated on three chestnut woods and compared for colonization time, extracellular enzymatic activity, and C mineralization. Fungal colonization strongly depended on fungus × wood interaction: L. sulphureus colonized all woods within 6 days, whereas the two G. resinaceum strains required 9–33 days depending on wood type; A. mellea and F. hepatica colonized only selected woods (up to 39 days). Enzymatic screening indicated laccase activity mainly in G. resinaceum (and to a lesser extent A. mellea), while L. sulphureus expressed cellulolytic activity but no laccase. Over 39 days, total C mineralization peaked under G. resinaceum on the two Sicilian woods (up to 270–300 mg CO2–C g−1 dry wood), whereas the Tuscan wood (highest C/N and phenolic content) markedly inhibited most strains; only L. sulphureus increased mineralization in this wood (85 mg CO2–C g−1 dry wood). These findings indicate that wood chemistry, especially C/N ratio and phenolic traits, strongly modulates strain-specific decay patterns. Overall, these results highlight the need for an integrated biological–biochemical approach to evaluate fungal decay potential and to inform both the selection of more durable chestnut woods for wood products and the identification of efficient strains to accelerate lignocellulosic biomass composting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Litter Decomposition and Soil Nutrient Cycling in Forests)
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22 pages, 2440 KB  
Article
Domestication Level and Soil Fertility Differentially Alter Soil Carbon Sequestration Potential in Breadfruit (Artocarpus)
by Lindsey Gohd, Louise M. Egerton-Warburton, Ellinore Porter, Noel Dakar Dickinson, Nyree J. C. Zerega and Ray Dybzinski
Forests 2026, 17(3), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030300 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 509
Abstract
Plant domestication studies have traditionally focused on morphological factors that are under direct selection, e.g., fruit size, overlooking the consequences of domestication on ecosystem services. We addressed this knowledge gap by documenting for first time the soil carbon (C) sequestration potential in wild [...] Read more.
Plant domestication studies have traditionally focused on morphological factors that are under direct selection, e.g., fruit size, overlooking the consequences of domestication on ecosystem services. We addressed this knowledge gap by documenting for first time the soil carbon (C) sequestration potential in wild relatives and domesticated cultivars of breadfruit (Artocarpus), a long-lived tree crop. We evaluated aggregate-bound and bulk organic C pools in breadfruit wild relatives and domesticates in soils that varied in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertility with management practices (fertilizer and mulch). We determined whether C levels were linked to plant domestication, abiotic factors (N, P, pH, and texture), or biotic factors with known links to C accrual (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and microbial biomass). In low N or N: P soils, increasing breadfruit domestication was associated with reductions in macroaggregate C (by 50%) and bulk C (host determinism); these shifts were associated with AMF hyphal productivity (50% lower than in wild relatives), soil N and P, and microbial biomass. With a high soil N fertility, the levels of aggregate and bulk soil C were similar between wild relatives and domesticates (plasticity). Despite the limited number of cultivars sampled (n = 10) and the different management practices among sites, our findings suggest domestication effects on ecosystem services, especially those modulated by AMF and soil N fertility. The calculated soil C stocks averaged 99.5 Mg C/ha (range 70–122 Mg C/ha), supporting the possibility of C accrual in breadfruit agroforestry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Litter Decomposition and Soil Nutrient Cycling in Forests)
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19 pages, 2558 KB  
Article
Determinants of Needleleaf and Broadleaf Decomposition Rates Under and Outside the Parent Tree Stand
by Putu Supadma Putra, Wardiman Mas’ud, Andi Siady Hamzah, Nasri Nasri, Amran Achmad, Toshihiro Yamada and Putu Oka Ngakan
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1678; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111678 - 4 Nov 2025
Viewed by 717
Abstract
We studied differences in the decomposition rate between Pinus merkusii Jungh. et de Vriese (tusam) leaves, a representative of needle leaf litter, and Diospyros celebica Bakh. (ebony) leaves, a representative of broadleaf litter, in three forest communities (Karst, Lowland, Pine) on the island [...] Read more.
We studied differences in the decomposition rate between Pinus merkusii Jungh. et de Vriese (tusam) leaves, a representative of needle leaf litter, and Diospyros celebica Bakh. (ebony) leaves, a representative of broadleaf litter, in three forest communities (Karst, Lowland, Pine) on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and identified their determinants. Twenty-four 1 m × 1 m quadrats were set up in each forest community to observe the in situ decomposition process. Near each quadrat, 1 m2 litter traps were set to monitor litter production. In addition, 30 litter bags containing tusam leaves and 30 litter bags containing ebony leaves were spread in the three forest communities, in both the dry and wet seasons, to observe their decomposition rate during each season. The ANOVA test showed that the one-year in situ Decomposition Rate Constant (k) was significantly highest in the Karst forest (0.0921/year), followed by the Lowland forest (0.0700/year), and the lowest in the Pine forest (0.0277/year). During the dry season, the mean k-value of tusam leaves was significantly faster than ebony leaves in Karst (0.7162/6 months for tusam, 0.3840/6 months for ebony) and Lowland forests (0.3472/6 months for tusam, 0.1017/6 months for ebony), but on the contrary, it is slower in the Pine forest (0.0498/6 months for tusam, 0.0745/6 months for ebony). During the wet season, there was no significant difference between the mean k-value of tusam leaves compared to ebony leaves in the Karst (0.5217/4 months for tusam, 0.4859/4 months for ebony) and Lowland (0.2397/4 months for tusam, 0.2098/4 months for ebony) forests, but in the Pine forest, the mean k-value of ebony leaves was significantly higher than that of tusam leaves (0.0942/4 months for tusam, 0.1650/4 months for ebony). This study explains that the decomposition process of leaf litter is complex, species-specific, and is controlled by a combination of factors. Extrinsic factors play a more critical role than intrinsic factors in determining the k-value. The low rate of decomposition of tusam leaves under its mother tree stands is not caused by intrinsic factors, but rather by extrinsic factors that inhibit the growth of decomposing agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Litter Decomposition and Soil Nutrient Cycling in Forests)
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30 pages, 12726 KB  
Article
Ecological Sensitivity Zoning and Functional Optimization of the Longyuwan National Forest Park
by Jing He, Yigeng Zhu, Wenwen Zhong, Qiupeng Yuan, Rui Zhang, Jue Li, Shuang Yao, Tailin Zhong and Zhi Li
Forests 2025, 16(10), 1565; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16101565 - 10 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 977
Abstract
In the context of sustainable forest resource development, balancing ecological conservation with rational utilization is essential to achieving forest multifunctionality. Longyuwan National Forest Park, located in Luanchuan County, Henan Province, serves as a transitional zone between rural mountainous ecosystems and nearby urban settlements. [...] Read more.
In the context of sustainable forest resource development, balancing ecological conservation with rational utilization is essential to achieving forest multifunctionality. Longyuwan National Forest Park, located in Luanchuan County, Henan Province, serves as a transitional zone between rural mountainous ecosystems and nearby urban settlements. Increasingly, this area faces urbanization pressures such as tourism expansion, infrastructure development, and intensified land use, which may threaten ecological stability. This study aims to evaluate the ecological sensitivity of the park and optimize its spatial functional zoning. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), we followed four key steps: constructing the hierarchical model, generating the pairwise judgment matrices, computing the weights and conducting the consistency check, and determining the final weights. A hierarchical evaluation framework was constructed using the AHP, incorporating twelve ecological indicators across geomorphological, hydrological, atmospheric, biological, and anthropogenic dimensions. Spatial analysis tools in ArcGIS 10.2, including reclassification and weighted overlay, were employed for single-factor and integrated sensitivity assessments. The results indicated that land-use type, elevation, and water-body distribution were the most influential indicators. Ecological sensitivity across the park was categorized into five levels: extremely high (0.02%), high (11.99%), moderate (73.53%), low (14.19%), and extremely low (0.28%). Based on these findings, four functional zones were delineated: ecological conservation (50.99%), core landscape (22.86%), general recreation (23.94%), and management and service (2.21%). This research provides spatially explicit insights into forest management under anthropogenic stress, offering theoretical support for the sustainable governance of forest–urban interface landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Litter Decomposition and Soil Nutrient Cycling in Forests)
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