Forest 4.0: Advancements and Challenges in Digital Technologies for Sustainable Forest Management

Dear Colleagues,

Forest 4.0 refers to the integration of advanced digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain, and big data analytics, into forest management practices. It is a concept that aims to revolutionize the forest industry by harnessing the power of technology to improve efficiency, sustainability, and profitability. The goals of Forest 4.0 include optimizing resource utilization, reducing waste, improving supply chain management, and enhancing the decision-making process through data-driven insights. Additionally, Forest 4.0 is also aimed at reducing the negative impacts of the forest industry on the environment by promoting sustainable forestry practices and mitigating the risks of forest fires, disease outbreaks, and climate change. The Special Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements and challenges in the integration of digital technologies into forest management practices, with a focus on promoting sustainable forest management practices and promoting sustainable forest management practices under conditions of rapidly changing environments. The Special Issue will be of interest to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from the forestry and technology sectors who are interested in leveraging digital technologies for sustainable forest management. The objective of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements and challenges in digital technologies for sustainable forest management, with a focus on Forest 4.0.

The Special Issue aims to bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from the forestry and technology sectors to share their insights, experiences, and best practices in the integration of digital technologies into forest management practices. Topics of interest may include, but are not limited to:

• Advanced digital technologies for forest monitoring and management;
• Blockchain and IoT applications for traceability and supply chain management in the forest industry;
• Big data analytics for optimizing forest harvesting, transportation, and resource utilization;
• Precision forestry solutions for forest mapping, inventory, and decision-making;
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for sustainable forest management;
• Building frameworks for forest (sector) modelling;
• Challenges and opportunities in the integration of digital technologies into forest management practices;
• STEEP (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political) impacts of Forest 4.0;
• Best practices and case studies in the implementation of Forest 4.0.

Prof. Dr. Robertas Damaševičius
Prof. Dr. Gintautas Mozgeris
Dr. Rytis Maskeliunas
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.