The Ecology and Biogeochemistry of Old-Growth Forests

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2020) | Viewed by 296

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Old-Growth forests are ecological superstars, providing innumerable goods and services in the form of carbon storage, nutrient retention and cycling, species diversity, and rare habitat as well as aesthetic and spiritual value. Yet, the unique ecological and biogeochemical characteristics of old-growth forests remain under-studied and -reported relative to more broadly distributed early and middle successional forests. A consequence is old-growth forest management and land-use policies are less data-informed than their more abundant, younger counterparts. We invite papers that provide novel insights into the ecology, biogeochemistry, and/or management of old-growth forest, and particularly encourage studies that contrast old-growth and younger forests. Recognizing that conventionally defined old-growth forest is exceedingly rare, we define “old-growth” broadly as primary or secondary forest with structural attributes associated with late-successional, but not necessarily steady-state, stages of ecosystem development.  Such features should be clearly described in the methods and include a multi-layered and uneven-aged canopy structure, canopy gap formation, the presence of woody debris, and well-developed soils. Other commonly-assumed features such as large and/or old trees are often present but not essential for a site to be considered old-growth.

Dr. Christopher Gough
Prof. Dr. Chris Peterson
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

  • old-growth
  • late-successional
  • biogeochemistry
  • carbon cycling
  • diversity
  • habitat
  • management steady-state goods and services

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.

Published Papers

There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment.
Back to TopTop