Forest Silviculture and Carbon Sequestration in a Changing Climate
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 February 2021) | Viewed by 11401
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Increased carbon sequestration by forests is an important element of a comprehensive strategy to reduce net CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change. The capacity of forests to store carbon varies by region, species composition, soil type, minerology, climate, disturbance frequency, and management objectives (e.g., biomass production, biodiversity, water yield, wildlife conservation). Silvicultural practices such as site preparation, species and genotype selection, nutrient and residue management, vegetation control, prescribed fire, and thinning have long been used to increase stand productivity and wood biomass, but effects on carbon allocation and storage in understory, forest floor, and mineral soil storage are often neutral or negative. Because of this, it is unclear if there is a trade-off between increased productivity and long-term carbon storage in detritus and mineral soil. A better understanding of the interaction between silviculture practices, species selection, and soil biogeochemical processes will aid in the development management strategies that maximize carbon sequestration while also maintaining productive capacity and provisioning of other ecosystem services (e.g., water quality and yield, biodiversity, nutrient cycling).
This Special Issue explores our current understanding of the relationship between silviculture, forest development, and carbon dynamics in managed forests. We invite manuscripts that address a broad range of questions, including: What carbon pools and fluxes are the most promising for enhanced carbon sequestration? What physiological, biogeochemical, and developmental processes are most sensitive to management, and how do they change with stand age? How does a carbon stabilization and residence time vary as a function of soil type (minerology), depth, physiochemical properties, and plant residue composition? Can proactive management utilizing onsite residues or amendments (e.g., biochar) promote forest growth, soil carbon, and retention? How do different species, genotypes, or species assemblages effect belowground carbon inputs and stabilization (e.g., altered root morphology, distribution, recalcitrance to decomposition)? Where does increased carbon sequestration enhance, and where is it detrimental to pre-existing processes and ecosystem services? Suitable manuscripts may include stand scale experimental studies, regional or landscape modeling analyses, meta-analyses, or reviews.
Dr. Chris A. Maier
Guest Editor
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
- Silviculture
- Carbon storage
- Carbon allocation
- Climate change
- Soil CO2
- Ecophysiology
- Adaptive forest management
- Ecosystem services
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