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Forests
Special Issues
Forest Dynamics Under Climate and Land Use Change
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Forest Dynamics Under Climate and Land Use Change

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2025) | Viewed by 6186

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lucia Santorufo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: soil biodiversity; forest fires; soil fauna; microarthropods; nutrient cycle
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giorgia Santini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: soil biodiversity; microorganisms; decomposers; n cycles; microbiome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the context of accelerating climate change and intensifying land use pressures, understanding forest dynamics has never been more critical. Climate change significantly influences forest health, altering growth rates, species distribution, and biodiversity and rising temperatures alter precipitation patterns, increasing the frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts while storms are pivotal climate-related factors affecting forest resilience and productivity. Concurrently, land use changes, including deforestation, urban expansion, and agricultural intensification, have led to habitat fragmentation and loss, further stressing forest ecosystems. These transformations not only reduce the carbon sequestration capacity of forests but also impair their ability to support biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. The interactions between climate change and land use change create complex feedback loops, complicating forest management and conservation strategies. Adaptive management approaches that incorporate predictive modeling and real-time monitoring are essential for mitigating these adverse effects and enhancing the resilience of forest ecosystems. Hence, there is a need for integrated policies that address both climate and land use impacts to sustain and restore forest ecosystems in the face of environmental change.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • The impacts of climate and land use change on forest functioning;
  • The responses of vegetation, soil, and epigeal fauna;
  • The resistance and resilience of forest ecosystems to global changes;
  • The modeling of future scenarios of forest changes under different climate and land use transformations;
  • The restoration of forest ecosystems.

Dr. Lucia Santorufo
Dr. Giorgia Santini
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • vegetation dynamics
  • soil functioning
  • soil organisms
  • restoration
  • modeling

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 6996 KB  
Article
Spatial and Landscape Fragmentation Pattern of Endemic Symplocos Tree Communities Under Climate Change Scenarios in China
by Mohammed A. Dakhil, Lin Zhang, Marwa Waseem A. Halmy, Reham F. El-Barougy, Bikram Pandey, Zhanqing Hao, Zuoqiang Yuan, Lin Liang and Heba Bedair
Forests 2026, 17(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17010058 - 31 Dec 2025
Viewed by 414
Abstract
Symplocos is an ecologically important genus that plays vital roles in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved mountain forests, including contributing to nutrient cycling, providing shelter and habitats for various organisms, and supporting overall plant diversity across East and Southeast Asia. Many species exhibit high levels [...] Read more.
Symplocos is an ecologically important genus that plays vital roles in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved mountain forests, including contributing to nutrient cycling, providing shelter and habitats for various organisms, and supporting overall plant diversity across East and Southeast Asia. Many species exhibit high levels of endemism and sensitivity to environmental change. China, with its wide range of ecosystems and climatic zones, is home to 18 endemic Symplocos species. Studies revealed that global warming is driving shifts in species diversity, particularly in mountains. Our study explores the current and projected richness patterns of endemic Symplocos species in China under climate change scenarios, emphasizing the implications for conservation planning. We applied stacked species distribution models (SSDMs), using key bioclimatic and environmental variables to predict current and future habitat suitability for endemic Symplocos species, evaluated model performance through multiple accuracy metrics, and generated ensemble projections to assess richness patterns under climate change scenarios. To assess the spatial configuration and fragmentation patterns of the endemic species richness under current and future climate scenarios, landscape metrics were calculated based on classified richness maps. The produced models demonstrated high accuracy with AUC > 0.9 and TSS > 0.75, highlighting the critical role of bioclimatic variables, particularly precipitation and temperature, in shaping endemic Symplocos distribution. Our analysis identifies the current hotspots of Symplocos endemism along southeastern China, particularly in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, southern Anhui, and northern Guangdong and Guangxi. These areas are at high risk, with up to 35% of endemic Symplocos species richness predicted to be lost over the next 60 years due to climate change. The study predicts a high decrease in endemic Symplocos species richness, especially in South China (e.g., Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan, southern Shaanxi), and mid-level decreases in East China (e.g., Heilongjiang, Jilin, eastern Inner Mongolia, Liaoning). Conversely, potential increases in endemic Symplocos species richness are projected in northern and western Xinjiang, western Tibet, and parts of eastern Sichuan, Guangxi, Hunan, Hebei, and Anhui, suggesting these regions may serve as future refugia for endemic Symplocos species. The analysis of the landscape structure and configuration revealed relatively minor but notable variations in the spatial structure of endemic Symplocos richness patterns under current and future climate scenarios. However, under the SSP585 scenario by 2080, the medium richness class showed a more pronounced decrease in aggregation index and increase in number of patches relative to other richness classes, suggesting that higher emissions may drive fragmentation of moderately rich areas, potentially isolating populations of Symplocos. These structural changes suggest a potential reduction in habitat quality and connectivity, posing significant risks to the persistence of endemic Symplocos populations, which underscores the urgent need for targeted smart-climate conservation strategies that prioritize both current hotspots and potential future refugia to enhance the resilience of endemic Symplocos forests and their ecosystems in the face of climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Dynamics Under Climate and Land Use Change)
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24 pages, 3511 KB  
Article
Dynamics of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Açaí Cultivation: Comparing Amazonian Upland and Floodplain Soils
by Mario Flores Aroni, José Henrique Cattanio and Claudio José Reis de Carvalho
Forests 2025, 16(6), 944; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16060944 - 4 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2155
Abstract
Global warming is driven by the increasing atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases. Soils are highly sensitive to climate change and can shift from being carbon reservoirs to carbon sources under warmer and wetter conditions. This study is the first to simultaneously measure trace [...] Read more.
Global warming is driven by the increasing atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases. Soils are highly sensitive to climate change and can shift from being carbon reservoirs to carbon sources under warmer and wetter conditions. This study is the first to simultaneously measure trace gas fluxes in Euterpe oleracea (açaí) plantations in upland areas, contrasting them with floodplain areas managed for açaí production in the eastern Amazon. Flux measurements were conducted during both the rainy and dry seasons using the closed dynamic chamber technique. In upland areas, CO2 fluxes exhibited spatial (plateau vs. lowland) and temporal (hourly, daily, and seasonal) variations. During both the rainy and dry months, CH4 uptake in upland soils was higher in lowland areas compared to the plateau. When comparing the two ecosystems, upland areas emitted more CO2 during the rainy season, while floodplain areas released more CH4 into the atmosphere. Unexpectedly, during the dry season, floodplain soils produced more CO2 and captured more CH4 from the atmosphere compared to upland soils. In upland areas, CO2-equivalent production reached 59.1 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1, while in floodplain areas, it reached 49.3 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1. Soil organic matter plays a vital role in preserving water and microorganisms, enhancing ecosystem productivity in uniform açaí plantations and intensifying the transfer of CH4 from the atmosphere to the soil. However, excessive soil moisture can create anoxic conditions, block gas diffusion, reduce soil respiration, and potentially turn the soil from a sink into a source of CH4. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Dynamics Under Climate and Land Use Change)
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Review

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22 pages, 1798 KB  
Review
Accounting for Land-Use Changes in Environmental Impact Assessments of Wood Products: A Review
by Charis Anaïs Kanellos, Miguel Riviere, Thierry Brunelle and David W. Shanafelt
Forests 2024, 15(12), 2242; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15122242 - 20 Dec 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2826
Abstract
Environmental policy and the expansion of the bioeconomy sector has led to increased demand for wood and wood products, pressuring forests. In order to meet additional demand, foresters must either intensify forest management practices or alter forest area. One of the more observable [...] Read more.
Environmental policy and the expansion of the bioeconomy sector has led to increased demand for wood and wood products, pressuring forests. In order to meet additional demand, foresters must either intensify forest management practices or alter forest area. One of the more observable shifts in forest management comes in the form of changes in land use or land cover. Yet despite the many short- and long-term consequences of land-use change, the environmental impacts of it are less explored in forestry than in agriculture. In this paper, we conduct a literature review over the period between 1993 and 2022 to better understand how the notions of land-use and land-cover change are included in environmental impact assessments related to the production of wood and wood products. Specifically, we identified five categories of impacts studied and found a surprising dichotomy in terminology between land-use/land-cover change and changes in forest management practices. We present general trends in the methods and indicators used and discuss potential methodological and conceptual challenges inherent to this literature. Our results are particularly important in light of the growing popularity of land-use and land-cover data in research, as we highlight how they have been integrated into existing environmental impact assessment methods and how we can improve them going into the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Dynamics Under Climate and Land Use Change)
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