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Dear Colleagues,

Forest structural characteristics such as structural heterogeneity, species composition, tree density, and mean tree size are known to have major impacts on forest functions and associated ecosystem services. They drive the spatial and temporal dynamics of key resources (light, soil nutrients, and water) and thus impact the interactions between trees and, in the end, forest dynamics and functioning.

Even if we now know that forest structural characteristics plays a key role in driving master functions and some ecosystem services, there are still important gaps in our knowledge. First, tree spatial heterogeneity at the stand scale and its effects on forest functions and ecosystem services have been poorly investigated. Second, we know little about how forest management influences some structural characteristics in the long term (e.g., species composition) and do not fully understand its effects on forest functions and ecosystem services. Third, we need to deepen our understanding of the ecological mechanisms that underpin these relationships. Finally, there is a lack of research on the effects of structural characteristics on cultural or recreation services and of studies dealing with the landscape scale.

This Special Issue aims to gather more insights on these complex topics by publishing high-quality papers investigating the relationships between structural characteristics and both forest functions and ecosystem services in managed or unmanaged forest ecosystems all over the world.

Dr. Thomas Cordonnier
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

tree species diversity
tree size diversity
tree spatial heterogeneity
forest management
landscape level
stand level
forest dynamics
ecological mechanisms

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water Regulation Ecosystem Services Following Gap Formation in Fir-Beech Forests in the Dinaric Karst

by Urša Vilhar

Forests 2021, 12(2), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12020224 - 16 Feb 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2188

Abstract

This paper investigates how variation in forest structural characteristics affects the water retention capacity of gaps and forests in fir-beech forests in the Dinaric Karst. Forests are identified as a key element of the landscape for provision of pristine water resources, particularly in highly vulnerable karst aquifers characterized by rapid infiltration of recharge water, high subsurface permeability, and heterogeneous underground flow. Indicators of hydrologic fluxes (drainage flux, canopy interception, transpiration, and soil evaporation) in a large experimental gap (approximately 0.2 ha in size) and those in a nearby old-growth gap were compared over a 13-year period using the Brook90 hydrological model and their structural characteristics were analyzed. In addition, the hydrologic fluxes were also simulated for a managed forest and an old-growth forest for reference. Water regulation capacity was lowest in the experimental gap, where drainage flux accounted for 81% of precipitation and the sum of canopy interception, transpiration, and soil evaporation (evapotranspiration) accounted for 18%. This was followed by the old-growth gap, where drainage flux accounted for 78% of precipitation and evapotranspiration for 23%. Water retention capacity was highest and generally similar for both forests, where 71–72% of annual precipitation drained to the subsurface. The results of this study suggest that the creation of large canopy gaps in fir-beech forests in the Dinaric Karst results in significant and long-lasting reduction in soil and vegetation water retention capacity due to unfavorable conditions for successful natural tree regeneration. For optimal provision of water regulation ecosystem services of forests in the Dinaric Karst, small, irregularly shaped canopy gaps no larger than tree height should be created, mimicking the structural characteristics of naturally occurring gaps in old-growth forests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Structural Characteristics and Their Relationship with Ecosystem Services and Functions)

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Review

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24 pages, 1865 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Stand Structural Characteristics Are the Most Practical Biodiversity Indicators for Forest Management Planning in Europe

by Marija Ćosović, Miguel N. Bugalho, Dominik Thom and José G. Borges

Forests 2020, 11(3), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11030343 - 19 Mar 2020

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 8649

Abstract

Including biodiversity assessments in forest management planning is becoming increasingly important due to the importance of biodiversity for forest ecosystem resilience provision and sustainable functioning. Here we investigated the potential to include biodiversity indicators into forest management planning in Europe. In particular, we aimed to (i) identify biodiversity indicators and data collection methods for biodiversity assessments at the stand and landscape levels, and (ii) evaluate the practicality of those indicators for forest management planning. We performed a literature review in which we screened 188 research studies published between 1990 and 2020. We selected 94 studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria and examined in more detail. We considered three aspects of biodiversity: structure, composition, and function, and four forest management categories: unmanaged, managed, plantation, and silvopastoral. We used three criteria to evaluate the practicality of forest biodiversity indicators: cost-effectiveness, ease of application, and time-effectiveness. We identified differences in the practicality of biodiversity indicators for their incorporation into management plans. Stand-level indicators are more practical than landscape-level indicators. Moreover, structural biodiversity indicators (e.g., large trees, canopy openness, and old forest stands) are more useful in management plans than compositional indicators, as these are easily observable by non-professionals and can be obtained by forest inventories. Compositional indicators such are vascular plants, fungi, bryophyte, lichens, and invertebrate species are hard to identify by non-professionals and thus are impractical. Functional indicators (e.g., nutrient cycling) are not sufficiently addressed in the literature. Using recently updated existing databases (e.g., national forest inventories and bird atlases) is very time and cost-efficient. Remote sensing and other technology (e.g., smartphone applications) are promising for efficient data collection in the future. However, more research is needed to make these tools more accurate and applicable to a variety of ecological conditions and scales. Until then, forest stand structural variables derived from inventories can help improve management plans to prepare European forests towards an uncertain future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Structural Characteristics and Their Relationship with Ecosystem Services and Functions)

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