Forest Management and Vegetation Restoration: Strategies for Enhancing Socio-Ecological Resilience and Mitigating Climate Change Impacts

Dear Colleagues,

Forests are essential components of the Earth's biosphere, playing a critical role in maintaining ecological balance, supporting biodiversity, regulating climate, and providing ecosystem services that are vital for human well-being. However, anthropogenic pressures such as deforestation, land degradation, and climate change are causing unprecedented transformations in forest ecosystems. These changes threaten the sustainability of forest resources and the long-term health of terrestrial ecosystems.

Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) has arisen as a holistic strategy for balancing the ecological, social, and economic roles of forests. It aims to sustain and enhance forests' ability to produce goods and services while protecting biodiversity and boosting resilience to environmental changes. Vegetation restoration, on the other hand, seeks to rehabilitate damaged forest ecosystems, promote natural regeneration, and restore lost ecological functions and services due to human interference or natural disturbances.

The intersection of SFM and vegetation restoration is gaining popularity in the scientific community as an effective strategy for combating land degradation, increasing carbon sequestration, and meeting global environmental goals like the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By combining scientific knowledge, traditional practices, and modern technologies, sustainable forest management and vegetation restoration can significantly contribute to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable rural development.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together cutting-edge research that increases our understanding and practice of sustainable forest management and vegetation restoration. This collection of research articles will provide insights into the most recent scientific discoveries, innovative methodologies, and multidisciplinary approaches to supporting healthy forest ecosystems and restoring areas of damage.

This Special Issue aligns with the scope of Sustainability, which includes studies on environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability. It addresses major challenges in sustainable resource management and emphasizes the importance of forests in building a sustainable future. By contributing to the body of knowledge on sustainable forestry and restoration practices, this Special Issue aims to inform policy, guide management methods, and inspire future research aligned with sustainability goals.

The Special Issue accepts original research articles, reviews, and case studies on the following topics:

              1. Innovative Practices in Sustainable Forest Management:

• Development and implementation of sustainable forestry methods.
• Socioeconomic and cultural components of forest management.
• Integration of indigenous knowledge and community-based management practices.

               2. Vegetation Restoration Techniques and Approaches:

• Restoration techniques for degraded forest areas.
• Ecosystem rehabilitation through both spontaneous and aided regeneration.
• Use of native species and biodiversity-friendly restoration methods.

              3. Forest Ecosystem Services and Functionality:

• Assessment of the ecological services offered by sustainable forests.
• Forests’ roles in water regulation, soil conservation, and climate change mitigation.
• Assessment of forest resilience and adaptive potential in response to climate change.

              4. Biodiversity Conservation and Habitat Restoration:

• Conservation solutions for endangered forest species and environments.
• Role of sustainable forest management in protecting biodiversity hotspots.
• Synergies between SFM and biodiversity preservation.

               5. Carbon Sequestration and Climate Change Mitigation:

• Forests’ role in carbon storage and sequestration.
• Restoration strategies contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Quantifying carbon dynamics in managed and regenerated forests.

              6. Policy, Governance, and Economic Aspects of Sustainable Forest Management:

• Evaluation of policies promoting SFM and vegetation restoration.
• Economic valuation of forest ecosystem services and restoration efforts.
• Frameworks for sustainable forest management.

               7. Technical and Methodological Advances in Forest Monitoring and Assessment:

• Remote sensing, geographic information systems, and other modern forest management methods.
• Innovative approaches for assessing forest health and vegetation recovery.
• Data-driven methodologies and models for sustainable forest management.

This Special Issue aims to provide a complete overview of the current level of research in these areas, encouraging multidisciplinary conversation and providing practical solutions to improve the sustainability and resilience of forest ecosystems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Stergios Tampekis
Prof. Dr. Garyfallos Arabatzis
Dr. Apostolos Kantartzis
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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.

• sustainable forest management
• vegetation restoration
• climate change mitigation
• socio-ecological resilience
• biodiversity conservation
• carbon sequestration
• ecosystem services
• forest rehabilitation
• land degradation
• environmental sustainability