Ecological Preferences and Bioindicative Role of Bryophytes in Forest Ecosystems

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 88

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Geobotany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Lodz, Poland
Interests: bryophyte ecology, in particular substrate and phytocoenotic preference; bioindicative role of mosses and liverworts in plant communities—mainly in forest ecosystems; taxonomy and distribution of pleurocarpous mosses (e.g., Plagiothecium, Fontinalis genus); medical potential of mosses; mosses in the city; paleobotany; mosses in amber
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bryophytes, including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, form a highly diverse group of plants, widely distributed across the globe. These organisms are commonly found in nearly all ecosystems—both non-forested and forested. In the latter, ecosystems tend to be characterized by high biodiversity due to the availability of various substrates (soil, wood, trees, rocks) and many of these are important for their microhabitats.

Although bryophytes are widely recognized as excellent bioindicators, reflecting aspects of air pollution, heavy metal accumulation, the plant communities in which they occur, and the substrates on which they grow, they are unfortunately increasingly overlooked in ecological and phytosociological studies.

This Special Issue provides an opportunity to discuss these important topics within a scientific context. It aims to highlight and emphasize the crucial bioindicative role of bryophytes in nature. Consequently, this Special Issue covers all aspects of mosses in forest communities, including their distributions, substrate preferences, microhabitats, and associations with plant communities. It will feature both local studies as well as broader regional or continental research. The scope also encompasses bioindicative functions of mosses and liverworts in various contexts—from microhabitats and substrates to plant communities.

Dr. Grzegorz J. Wolski
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

  • bryophytes
  • forest communities
  • bioindication
  • ecological preferences

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This special issue is now open for submission.
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