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Land
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Sustainable Forest Landscape Management Towards Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (Second...
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Sustainable Forest Landscape Management Towards Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (Second Edition)

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Landscape Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 11 September 2026 | Viewed by 2480

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Guillermo Martinez-Pastur

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ushuaia 9410, Argentina
Interests: forest ecology; forest management; ecosystem services; landscape ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Robert Baldwin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department, 261 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Interests: biodiversity; landscape-scale conservation planning; wetland landscapes; habitat connectivity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mónica Del Rosario Toro-Manríquez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Coyhaique 5951369, Aysén, Chile
Interests: forest ecology; forest management; biodiversity conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Serban Chivulescu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry Marin Dracea (INCDS), 077190 Voluntari, Romania
Interests: forest management; conservation; ecosystem services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The provision of ecosystem services over time in natural and anthropized landscapes requires the conservation of biodiversity, which ensures the functioning of ecosystems and their resilience to disturbances and natural and anthropogenic impacts. Currently, one of the greatest challenges is finding new ways to reconcile productive activities and urban growth with the provision of ecosystem services related to human well-being. Human well-being represents the ultimate measure in the evaluation of changes in ecosystem services (e.g., subsistence, health, goods), where the design and restoration of multifunctional landscapes represents one of the strategies used to face these challenges, e.g., using multi-objective forest planning at a landscape level. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to deepen studies on ecology at different scales of analysis, developing strategies and tools which are tailored to the specific requirements of the most sensitive or threatened areas. These tools need to be feasible for development and conservation strategies at the landscape scale, with implementation costs that are accessible and that utilize the scarce information available in developing countries. Tools such as remote sensing have rapidly developed in recent years, providing new opportunities for ecosystem monitoring and inventories.

This Special Issue, called “Sustainable Forest Landscape Management towards Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (Second Edition)”, aims to present and discuss the latest advances in the study of biodiversity in forests, both in natural and anthropized landscapes, via different productive activities, as well as following the main recommendations to improve their conservation and maintain the provision of the ecosystem services. It also aims to review current applications regarding the use of remote sensors and other platforms, their state of the art in natural ecosystems, and to analyze the utility and feasibility of these tools.

We will accept scientific papers and reviews in the following themes, but will also focus on forest management strategies based on the provision of ecosystem services and/or biodiversity conservation:

  1. Land-related issues in ecology, environmental/geosciences, economic (sustainability) sciences, and biodiversity research.
  2. Land-related aspects of biodiversity and forest management.
  3. Land management, including the application of ecosystem services, multifunctionality, or other concepts.
  4. Land-related trade-off analyses in resource management (e.g., biodiversity).
  5. Landscape and territorial planning, conservation, and management.
  6. New management proposals, e.g., variable retention forestry. 

Dr. Guillermo Martinez-Pastur
Prof. Dr. Robert Baldwin
Dr. Mónica Del Rosario Toro-Manríquez
Dr. Serban Chivulescu
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. Land 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

  • sustainable forestry
  • ecosystem services
  • biodiversity conservation
  • multi-objective forest planning
  • synergies and trade-offs
  • landscape management

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3598 KB  
Article
Investigating Old-Growth Forests in Tuscany (Italy): Structural Heterogeneity and Plant Diversity Across Forest Types and Novel Candidate Sites for the National Network
by Federico Selvi, Marco Cabrucci, Giammarco Dadà and Elisa Carrari
Land 2026, 15(4), 640; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15040640 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 458
Abstract
Old-growth forests play a vital role in the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity, though they are rare and increasingly threatened worldwide. The Mediterranean region hosts notable examples of these ecosystems, but information about their location, structure, and biodiversity is still largely incomplete. In this [...] Read more.
Old-growth forests play a vital role in the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity, though they are rare and increasingly threatened worldwide. The Mediterranean region hosts notable examples of these ecosystems, but information about their location, structure, and biodiversity is still largely incomplete. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that the region of Tuscany (Italy) harbors forest sites with old-growth characteristics in light of the EU indicators and the Italian ministerial guidelines. Accordingly, data on stand structural and plant diversity variables were collected in 27 plots located in pre-selected sites across different forest types of the region. As a result, 12 sites were inventoried that can be proposed as candidates for the national network of old-growth forests. These were largely unknown, ca. 10–300 ha in surface and encompassing five main forest types across 14 Natura2000 habitats. All stands have reached the mature or nearly senescent stage thanks to natural dynamic processes for over 70 years after the cessation of substantial anthropogenic disturbances. The structural heterogeneity index (SHI), based on living and deadwood biomass variables, was relatively high (66.2–84%). However, structural variables depended on forest type, thus on bioclimatic context and dominant tree species. Stands with beech and mountain conifers showed more pronounced old-growth characteristics than Mediterranean stands due to a faster recovery dynamic after cessation of disturbance. As many as 193 vascular plant taxa were recorded, with 16 species occurring with trees ≥ 50 cm in diameter. Forest specialist taxa, either woody or herbaceous, were prevalent, but numerous generalists also occurred in the gaps. Ancient forest species were also well represented, supporting the long temporal continuity of the forests. This work advances knowledge about forest sites with old-growth characteristics in southern Europe, contributing to the implementation of the national network and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Strict protection of these sites is necessary to allow the forest stands to fully reach the old-growth stage in the next decades, despite the negative influence of climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Forest Landscape Management Towards Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (Second Edition))
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23 pages, 1192 KB  
Article
Effects of Illegal Logging on Birds as Sentinels of Biodiversity in White-Sand Forests of the Peruvian Amazon
by Nico Arcilla, Alex Glass, Julio Sánchez Indama and Robert J. Cooper
Land 2026, 15(2), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15020354 - 22 Feb 2026
Viewed by 727
Abstract
Illegal logging is a major driver of tropical deforestation, accounting for the majority of timber harvested in many tropical countries and degrading many protected areas, due to both weak law enforcement capacity and corruption. Commercial logging is illegal in Peru’s Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve, [...] Read more.
Illegal logging is a major driver of tropical deforestation, accounting for the majority of timber harvested in many tropical countries and degrading many protected areas, due to both weak law enforcement capacity and corruption. Commercial logging is illegal in Peru’s Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve, a state protected area, but clandestine logging operations persist and affect its biodiversity, including the endemic bird species associated with its rare Amazonian white-sand forests. We examined the effects of illegal logging operations on white-sand forest understory bird communities as sentinels of biodiversity. We sampled birds with mist nets at 12 study sites in unlogged forest and forest regenerating between 1 and 10 years after timber harvest, capturing and releasing 348 birds representing 54 species in 16 families. Forest structure differed significantly between forest treatments, with canopy cover in logged forest significantly lower than in unlogged forest. All avian foraging guilds tested (including ant followers, other insectivores, frugivores, granivores, and nectarivores) responded significantly to changes in one or more forest structure characteristics we measured. The abundance of ant followers and other insectivores was positively correlated with canopy cover, while granivore abundance was positively correlated with subcanopy cover, and both frugivore and nectarivore abundance was negatively correlated with the numbers of trees in white-forest stands. We also took a rare opportunity to compare avian foraging guilds and relative abundance using capture data collected at the same white-sand forest sites in both 2005 and 2023. Over this 18-year period, the total number of understory birds and ant followers in particular declined, whereas other insectivores increased with time since logging. Our results demonstrate that logging has significant influences on white-sand forest habitat structure and bird community dynamics for decades after logging events. Illegal logging threatens forests and wildlife in many tropical protected areas, and we recommend their managers prioritize both preventing illegal logging and mitigating its negative effects to effectively conserve biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Forest Landscape Management Towards Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (Second Edition))
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19 pages, 1638 KB  
Article
Effectiveness of Protected Areas in the Conservation of Nothofagus antarctica Forests in Santa Cruz, Argentina
by Rocío L. Arcidiácono, Nirvana N. Churquina, Julián Rodríguez-Souilla, Juan M. Cellini, María Vanessa Lencinas, Francisco Ferrer, Pablo L. Peri and Guillermo Martínez Pastur
Land 2026, 15(1), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15010178 - 18 Jan 2026
Viewed by 793
Abstract
Protected areas (PAs) constitute a fundamental strategy for mitigating biodiversity loss. The land–sparing approach has expanded in response to international agreements, but expansion of PAs does not guarantee conservation objectives. The objective was to assess PA effectiveness in conserving Nothofagus antarctica forests in [...] Read more.
Protected areas (PAs) constitute a fundamental strategy for mitigating biodiversity loss. The land–sparing approach has expanded in response to international agreements, but expansion of PAs does not guarantee conservation objectives. The objective was to assess PA effectiveness in conserving Nothofagus antarctica forests in Santa Cruz (Argentina), evaluating human impacts associated with fires, animal uses, and harvesting. The research was conducted within pure native forests in Santa Cruz, Argentina. This province encompasses 52 protected areas, representing the highest concentration of conservation units within the forested landscapes across Argentina. At least eight PAs included N. antarctica forests. Three land tenure categories were evaluated: protected areas (PAs), a buffer of 15 km from PA boundaries on private lands (BL), and private lands (PL) outside the buffer. In total, 103 stands were sampled, where 38 variables were assessed (impacts, soil, forest structure, understory, and animal use). Three indices were developed to analyze ecosystem integrity: forest structure (FI), soil (SI), and animal use (AI). PAs presented the highest FI (0.64 for PA, 0.44 for BL, and 0.30 for PL) and AI (0.60 for PA, 0.55 for BL, and 0.52 for PL), and together with buffer areas, the highest SI (0.43 for PA, 0.47 for BL, and 0.32 for PL). PAs were clearly distinct from private lands; however, sustained actions for livestock exclusion, harvest regulation, and fire management remain necessary for future sustainable planning at the landscape level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Forest Landscape Management Towards Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity (Second Edition))
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