Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.6
2.5
Journals
Forests
Special Issues
Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and...
share announcement

Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 1745

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Griet An Erica Cuyckens

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Salvador de Jujuy C.P. 4600, Argentina
Interests: restoration; conservation; species distribution modelling; forest ecology; community ecology
Dr. Guillermo Martinez-Pastur

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ushuaia 9410, Argentina
Interests: forest ecology; forest management; ecosystem services; landscape ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests worldwide face unprecedented challenges, including climate change, habitat degradation, and biodiversity loss, emphasizing the urgent need for effective restoration and conservation strategies. In response to global initiatives like the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, researchers and practitioners are advancing innovative solutions to restore forest ecosystems and enhance their resilience. This Special Issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research and applied practices in forest restoration and conservation. We welcome contributions that address theoretical frameworks, empirical studies, and practical applications across diverse forest ecosystems, from tropical to boreal regions. Submissions may include experimental studies, meta-analyses, policy assessments, and interdisciplinary approaches that explore the intersection of ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable forest management.

Key Topics:

  • Restoration techniques for degraded forest ecosystems;
  • Biodiversity conservation;
  • Ecosystem services and soil restoration;
  • Climate change;
  • Community engagement in forest restoration projects;
  • Advances in monitoring, modeling, and digital tools.

This Special Issue provides a platform to share innovative research and foster dialog between scientists, practitioners, and policymakers working towards sustainable forest management and ecosystem recovery.

Dr. Griet An Erica Cuyckens
Dr. Guillermo Martinez-Pastur
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.

Keywords

  • forest restoration
  • biodiversity conservation
  • climate change
  • habitat degradation
  • sustainable forest management
  • UN decade on ecosystem restoration
  • applied conservation
  • restoration strategies
  • ecological restoration
  • experimental studies
  • meta-analyses

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 863 KB  
Article
Planting Native Herbaceous Species During Land Reclamation: 3-Year Growth Response to Soil Type and Competing Vegetation
by Camille Chartrand-Pleau, Dani Degenhardt and Amanda Schoonmaker
Forests 2025, 16(9), 1442; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16091442 - 10 Sep 2025
Viewed by 295
Abstract
In forest land reclamation, revegetation efforts often focus on restoring tree composition, while the recovery of the understory vegetation community is typically left to natural regeneration. This regeneration relies mainly on wind-dispersed seeds, ingress from adjacent intact forests, or seed emergence from stockpiled [...] Read more.
In forest land reclamation, revegetation efforts often focus on restoring tree composition, while the recovery of the understory vegetation community is typically left to natural regeneration. This regeneration relies mainly on wind-dispersed seeds, ingress from adjacent intact forests, or seed emergence from stockpiled surface soils. We examined the growth and survival of nursery-propagated, field-planted native herbaceous forbs on a reclaimed industrial site where topsoil placement depth was varied to manipulate soil nutrient availability and levels of competing vegetation. A pre-emergent herbicide was applied to half of the standard topsoil plots to assess the impact of ruderal vegetation competition. We addressed the following two questions: (1) How does placed topsoil depth affect the growth and survival of native forbs? We hypothesized that deeper topsoil (higher nutrient availability) would enhance growth but reduce survival due to increased competition. (2) Does competing ruderal vegetation negatively affect survival and/or growth? We hypothesized that competition would reduce growth in all species, but that Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) would show greater resilience due to its pioneering nature. The results showed that S. canadensis exhibited consistently high growth and survival across all topsoil treatments, confirming its competitive advantage. Showy aster (Eurybia conspicua (Lindl.) G.L.Nesom) survival remained high during no-topsoil and shallow-topsoil treatments, with reductions under standard-depth topsoil linked to increased competition. Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.) survival varied but tended to be higher in no-topsoil and shallow-topsoil conditions. These findings suggest that certain native forbs can thrive across a range of soil conditions, and that Canada goldenrod, in particular, is a strong candidate for revegetation programs where competition from ruderal vegetation is a concern. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2286 KB  
Article
Effect of Differential Growth Dynamics Among Dominant Species Regulates Species Diversity in Subtropical Forests: Empirical Evidence from the Mass Ratio Hypothesis
by Zhangtian You, Pengfei Wu, Emily Patience Bakpa, Lifu Zhang, Lianyao Ji and Shuisheng You
Forests 2025, 16(8), 1357; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16081357 - 21 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 530
Abstract
The Mass Ratio Hypothesis states that the growth dynamics of dominant species influence forest species diversity by regulating the niches of subordinate and transient species. However, this prediction has not yet been empirical confirmed in subtropical forests over long term. Using data from [...] Read more.
The Mass Ratio Hypothesis states that the growth dynamics of dominant species influence forest species diversity by regulating the niches of subordinate and transient species. However, this prediction has not yet been empirical confirmed in subtropical forests over long term. Using data from 1995 to 2017, we examined how dominant tree species regulate species evenness and richness by analyzing their height and diameter growth in three clear-cut forests (Castanopsis carlesii (Hemsl.) Hayata, Castanopsis fissa (Champ. ex Benth.) Rehder & E. H. Wilson, and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. stands), combined with the mean value of species niche breadth (measures the diversity of resources a species utilizes) across the community, including separate analyzes for subordinate (persistently coexisting with dominants species) and transient species (temporarily occurring species). Our results showed that an increase in height and diameter growth of dominant species had a negative effect on niche breadth of subordinate species, which in turn reduced species evenness (p < 0.01) but showed no significant relationship with species richness (p ≥ 0.05). Growth dynamics of dominants had no significant influence on the niche breadth of transient species. The early-fast growing dominant C. lanceolata significantly restricted the niche breadth of subordinate species (1.16 ± 0.23), resulting in relatively low evenness (0.49 ± 0.11). Conversely, the late-fast growing dominant C. carlesii promoted niche expansion (6.62 ± 1.20), resulting in higher evenness (0.81 ± 0.02). C. fissa -dominated strands with intermediate growth increments, exhibited moderate species evenness. These findings provide long-term empirical support for the Mass Ratio Hypothesis by demonstrating that growths of dominant species modulate niche partitioning in subordinates and thereby shape species diversity in subtropical forest communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 6347 KB  
Article
Limited Impacts of Activated Carbon and Mycorrhizal Amendments for Pinus echinata Reforestation on Strip-Mined Soils
by Casey Iwamoto, Courtney Siegert, Joshua J. Granger, Krishna P. Poudel, Adam Polinko and Zachary B. Freedman
Forests 2025, 16(8), 1316; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16081316 - 12 Aug 2025
Viewed by 388
Abstract
Strip mining creates widespread degraded landscapes that have low soil pH, high bulk density, impacted hydrologic processes, and an accumulation of heavy metals that limit revegetation efforts. To improve soil conditions and restoration success, soil amendments paired with native trees provide a potential [...] Read more.
Strip mining creates widespread degraded landscapes that have low soil pH, high bulk density, impacted hydrologic processes, and an accumulation of heavy metals that limit revegetation efforts. To improve soil conditions and restoration success, soil amendments paired with native trees provide a potential solution. However, limited empirical studies have been conducted on the success of soil amendments to facilitate shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) growth in the southeastern US. To fill this knowledge gap, a field trial was established on a reclaimed coal-mined site. Shortleaf pine seedlings were planted in a complete randomized block design with two soil amendment treatments: activated carbon and mycorrhizal inoculation, applied at a rate of 3.36 g/m2 and 42.5 g per tree, respectively. Soil treatment did not impact tree survival which concluded with a 69 ± 3% (mean ± standard error) survival rate. Activated carbon increased soil electrical conductivity (p = 0.037) and the mycorrhizal amendment led to increased soil Ca content (p = 0.004). After the first growing season, trees in the mycorrhizal-amended soil were 12% shorter (p = 0.016) than trees in the activated carbon treatment. While soil amendment resulted in minimal improvements to soil parameters, shortleaf pine was found to be an effective species choice for post-mined site reforestation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Forest Restoration and Applied Conservation: Bridging Science and Practice)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop