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Forests
Special Issues
Management of Forest Pests and Diseases—3rd Edition
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Management of Forest Pests and Diseases—3rd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 March 2026 | Viewed by 1173

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Young-Seuk Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ecology and Ecological Informatics, Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
Interests: ecological modeling; community ecology; ecosystem monitoring and assessment; invasion biology; aquatic ecosystem management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Won Il Choi

E-Mail
Guest Editor
National Institute of Forest Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Interests: climate change; entomology; ecological modeling; forest pests; population dynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dae-Seong Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Dongdaemun, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
Interests: global warming; ecology; ecological model; machine learning; species distribution; invasive alien species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest insects as well as microorganisms are important parts of the forest ecosystem, acting as regulating factors in the nutrient cycle and energy flow. However, many pests and diseases severely impact these ecosystems, negatively impacting forestry economy, ecosystem services, biodiversity, etc. Recently, forest pests and diseases have mainly emerged as a result of habitat changes or climate change. International trade and travel increase the movement of organisms from their original habitat to new areas, inducing the dispersal of organisms as invasive species. Meanwhile, climate change, including temperature increase, changes the potential distribution area of species by changing their habitat condition. Therefore, surveillance and monitoring of their occurrences and assessment of their impacts on the forest ecosystem would be the first step towards sustainable forest ecosystem management. Surveillance and monitoring play a fundamental role in effective control and management strategies for pests and diseases. In addition, accumulated monitoring data are used for the development of new methods for monitoring, assessing impacts and developing management techniques.

To minimize the impacts of pests and diseases and provide a better understanding of the structure and processes of the management of forest ecosystems, this Special Issue is seeking studies from a broad range of research topics related to forest pests and diseases, including:

  • Report on new forest pests;
  • Monitoring;
  • Assessment;
  • Impacts;
  • Management;
  • Sustainable ecosystem management;
  • Invasive species;
  • Dispersal of invasive species;
  • Dispersal modeling;
  • Effects of climate change;
  • Habitat change;
  • Risk assessment.

Prof. Dr. Young-Seuk Park
Dr. Won Il Choi
Dr. Dae-Seong Lee
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

  • forest management
  • invasive species
  • alien species
  • risk assessment
  • pests
  • insects
  • diseases
  • monitoring
  • assessment
  • ecology
  • effects of climate change
  • effects of environment change, outbreak, modelling

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 967 KB  
Article
Establishment and Application of a Novel Forest Pest–Disease Base Index Model
by Yuan Cheng, Jun Liang, Xin Jia, Chenwei Zhang, Lu Li, Guiyan Fan, Xiaoli Ren, Xing Han and Ruirui Hu
Forests 2026, 17(3), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030292 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 93
Abstract
The occurrence of forest pests and diseases is synergistically driven by stand factors (canopy closure, stand density, DBH, etc.) and site factors (elevation, soil type, slope aspect, etc.). To evaluate the effect grade of site factors on the degree of occurrence of specific [...] Read more.
The occurrence of forest pests and diseases is synergistically driven by stand factors (canopy closure, stand density, DBH, etc.) and site factors (elevation, soil type, slope aspect, etc.). To evaluate the effect grade of site factors on the degree of occurrence of specific forest pests and diseases after their interaction with stand factors, and to further determine the infestation severity of specific pests and diseases in stands established on suitable forestlands post-afforestation, a novel forest pest–disease base index model is defined based on the fundamental principles governing the occurrence of forest pests and diseases in specific pure forest stands. The model mandates the selection of pure forest ecosystems and the establishment of standard plots, within which a comprehensive survey of all site factors, stand factors, and target pest and disease incidence is conducted. Through methods such as stepwise regression analysis, key stand factors that influence forest pest and disease occurrence are identified, and a functional relationship between these factors and the forest pest–disease index is established. The optimal model, known as the principal curve, is obtained by relating the key stand factors to the pest–disease index. By proportionally stretching this principal curve, a series of forest pest–disease base index curves, namely the forest pest–disease base index model, is generated. These curves represent different pest–disease base index levels from bottom to top, corresponding to different grades of site effects on forest pest and disease occurrence. Furthermore, a model linking the pest–disease base index and site factors is established to evaluate the potential occurrence of pests and diseases in suitable forestlands. Applied to pure Pinus densiflora stands in Kunyu Mountain, this model quantitatively assesses the grade of site effects on the degree of occurrence of P. densiflora blight and Cephalcia kunyushanica, thereby verifying feasibility and practical applicability. It not only provides theoretical and technical support for pest and disease prediction prior to artificial forest establishment and the determination of infestation severity in post-afforestation stands but also improves ecological regulation methods for forest harmful organisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Forest Pests and Diseases—3rd Edition)
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14 pages, 3666 KB  
Article
Modeling the Climate-Driven Spread of Pine Wilt Disease for Forest Pest Risk Assessment and Management Using MaxEnt
by Manleung Ha, Chongkyu Lee and Hyun Kim
Forests 2025, 16(11), 1677; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16111677 - 3 Nov 2025
Viewed by 763
Abstract
Pine wilt disease (PWD), caused by the invasive nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, poses a growing threat to East Asian coniferous forests, which is further exacerbated by climate change. While studies have successfully applied Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) models to map the potential spread of [...] Read more.
Pine wilt disease (PWD), caused by the invasive nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, poses a growing threat to East Asian coniferous forests, which is further exacerbated by climate change. While studies have successfully applied Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) models to map the potential spread of PWD, they have primarily focused on broad spatial scales and climatic factors. This highlights the need for fine-scale, integrative modeling approaches that also account for environmental and anthropogenic factors. Therefore, we applied the MaxEnt model combined with change vector analysis to evaluate the spatial risk and potential future spread of PWD in Andong-si, Republic of Korea, under the SSP1-2.6 climate scenario. We integrated forest structure, soil conditions, topography, climate variables, and anthropogenic factors to generate high-resolution risk maps and identify the most influential environmental drivers. Notably, we demonstrated that historical infection proximity and isothermality strongly influence habitat suitability. We also, for the first time, projected an eastward shift of high-risk areas in Andong-si under future climate conditions. These findings provide timely insights for designing proactive surveillance networks, implementing risk-based monitoring, and developing climate-resilient management strategies. Our integrative modeling framework offers decision-support tools that can enhance early detection and targeted interventions against invasive forest pests under environmental change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Forest Pests and Diseases—3rd Edition)
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