Forest Carbon Management and Monitoring: Insight from Silvicultural Practices and Climate Change

Dear Colleagues,

Forests are recognized as critical components of the global carbon cycle, serving as both sinks and sources of carbon dioxide. Over the years, research has increasingly focused on understanding how forest management practices, particularly silviculture, can influence carbon sequestration and storage. This field has evolved from initial investigations into the basic biogeochemical processes governing carbon dynamics to more comprehensive studies examining the impacts of various management strategies on forest carbon stocks.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research and advancements in forest carbon management and monitoring, with a particular focus on the insights gained from silvicultural practices and their interactions with climate change. The issue seeks to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds, including forestry, ecology, remote sensing, and climate science, to share their findings and perspectives on this critical topic.

The scope of the Special Issue covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Carbon sequestration and storage potential of different forest types and management systems.
• The impact of silvicultural practices (e.g., thinning, harvesting, and regeneration methods) on forest carbon dynamics.
• The role of forests in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
• Advances in remote sensing and other monitoring technologies for forest carbon assessment.
• Modeling approaches to understand and predict forest carbon dynamics under changing climate conditions.
• Policy and management implications of forest carbon management and monitoring.

Recent research in this field has made significant progress in understanding how different forest management strategies impact carbon sequestration and storage. Some key findings include:

• Old-growth Forest Conservation: Studies have shown that old-growth forest conservation results in greater carbon storage in soils compared to extensive and intensive forest management strategies.
• Intensive Forest Management: This approach enhances forest carbon sequestration capacity through afforestation using fast-growing species, mechanical soil preparation, and N fertilization.
• Extensive Forest Management: This strategy represents a compromise between conservation and intensive management, offering intermediate levels of carbon sequestration and soil carbon storage.
• Silvicultural Treatments: Partial cutting has been found to increase forest carbon sequestration rates and maintain higher carbon storage in soils compared to clear-cuts.

The Special Issue seeks to solicit papers that represent the cutting edge of research in forest carbon management and monitoring. Potential contributions may include:

1. Empirical Studies: Studies that present new empirical data on forest carbon stocks, fluxes, and sequestration rates under different silvicultural practices and climate scenarios. These studies should use rigorous methodologies and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms driving forest carbon dynamics.
2. Modeling Approaches: Research that develops or applies novel modeling frameworks to simulate and predict forest carbon dynamics under various management and climate scenarios. Models should be well-validated and capable of generating actionable insights for forest managers and policymakers.
3. Remote Sensing and Monitoring Technologies: Studies that showcase the latest advancements in remote sensing and other monitoring technologies for assessing forest carbon dynamics. These may include the use of LiDAR, radar, hyperspectral imaging, and other emerging technologies to improve the accuracy and precision of forest carbon estimates.
4. Policy and Management Implications: Research that examines the policy and management implications of forest carbon management and monitoring. This may include studies that evaluate the effectiveness of different policy interventions in promoting sustainable forest management practices, as well as studies that assess the economic and social costs and benefits of forest carbon sequestration.
5. Case Studies and Best Practices: Contributions that present case studies or best practices from around the world, highlighting successful examples of forest carbon management and monitoring under different climatic and socio-economic conditions.

In summary, the Special Issue "Forest Carbon Management and Monitoring: Insight from Silvicultural Practices and Climate Change" aims to provide a platform for researchers to share their latest findings and insights on this critical topic. By bringing together experts from diverse fields, the issue seeks to advance the understanding of forest carbon dynamics and promote the development of effective strategies for managing and monitoring forest carbon in the face of climate change.

Prof. Dr. Xavier Cavard
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.

• forest carbon management
• carbon sequestration
• carbon sink
• climate change
• greenhouse gas emissions
• soil carbon storage