Community- and Ecosystem-Level Impacts of Invasive Species

Dear Colleagues,

Most forest ecosystems around the world have been invaded by exotic species, but the impacts vary substantially over space. The effects of invasion also vary across trophic and spatial scales. Particularly, how impacts at the community level may be transferred to the ecosystem level remains largely unknown. At the community level, invading species alter species interactions and overall species diversity. At the ecosystem level, invasives may modify ecosystem structure and functioning through cross-trophic interactions and cascading processes. Such impacts alter food-webs, litter decomposition, fire regimes, and the availability of nutrients, water, and light. Furthermore, the effects of invasive species can be indirect, through complex interactions with resident species. Finally, how climate change and land use impact species invasion demands urgent attention.

This Special Issue aims to reveal (1) current knowledge and major information gaps; (2) how natural disturbance and management (e.g., harvesting, fire, and grazing) affect and are affected by the impacts; and (3) how human activities and climate change may affect future invasions and impacts. The findings will help in the identification of invasion hotspots and inform policy makers when developing adaptive strategies to effectively practice prevention, early detection/eradication, and better management. This Special Issue will publish both reviews and articles.

Dr. Qinfeng Guo
Dr. Kevin Potter
Dr. Hai Ren
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. 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.

• cross-trophic invasions
• climate change
• invasibility
• land use
• indirect effects
• invasion management
• scale