Special Issue "Conservation Biology and Ecology of Forest Woody Species"

Dear Colleagues,

Forest ecosystems host a significant portion of terrestrial biodiversity. Together with shrubs and lianas, trees build a huge variety of habitats, provide food and shelter for many forest-dependent plants as well as micro-organisms, animal species, prevent soil erosion, mitigate water runoff, etc. Despite their invaluable biological importance and the key ecosystem services they provide, over the past three centuries, forests have undergone sharp shrinkage worldwide, and deforestation rates have even experienced a dramatic acceleration during the last few decades. At least 35% of preagricultural woodlands is already lost, whereas more than 80% of remnant forests are degraded or simplified in terms of structure and composition due to direct or indirect human impact (unsustainable logging, overgrazing, agriculture, urban sprawl, etc.).

In recent decades, awareness and concern of the loss of forests and its impact on climate change, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services supply have risen significantly. In this context, the small proportion of still-existing primeval or undisturbed forests deserve special consideration to address the planning and implementation of strategies for the conservation of biodiversity. In fact, recent studies pointed out that forests still host high levels of intraspecific genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity. Such characteristics make many forest woody species very resilient to environmental stresses and disturbances (e.g., wildfires) induced by extreme climatic events.

The best policies to promote the conservation of forest biodiversity are protection, sustainable forest management and restoration. This Special Issue aims to show the most recent advances in the field of forest conservation, collecting any contribution (original research papers, reviews, methodological papers, opinions, etc.) focusing on the processes and functioning of well-preserved forest ecosystems, genetic diversity of forest woody species, conservation of relict trees, sustainable forest management, forest habitat restoration, and translocation of endangered forest species.

Dr. Giuseppe Garfì
Dr. Salvatore Pasta
Guest Editors

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• dendrology
• forest ecosystems
• forest habitat restoration
• forest management
• genetic diversity
• sustainability
• translocation practices