Grassland, Soil, and Forest Ecology
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Forestry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 January 2024) | Viewed by 707
Special Issue Editors
Interests: grassland and forest ecosystems; soil; soil organic matter; humus substances; biogeochemistry; nutrient availability; near infrared spectroscopy; sustainability; ecological stability; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: agroecosystems; plant nutrition; soil; soil chemical properties; crop quality; weather–crop relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Grassland (GE) and forest (FE) ecosystems are the largest and most widespread types of terrestrial ecosystems on the planet, sharing a wide range of ecosystem functions. They protect soil against water and wind erosion, prevent excessive evaporation from the soil, retain precipitation, significantly influence water regimes in the soil and landscape, shape the landscape and increase biodiversity. Furthermore, GE and FE are considered the largest pools of carbon, nitrogen and nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems (in aboveground and underground biomass and soil).
Current anthropic stresses, compounded by climate change in the form of rising temperatures, the uneven distribution of rainfall and prolonged heat waves, non-native tree species composition, or the management practices of GE and FE, are raising discussion on the functioning and ecological stability of GE and FE concerning soil and soil health, with emphasis on the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients.
The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) that bring the latest knowledge on the impact of changing environmental conditions (global climate change) and management practices (GE: fertilization, the intensity of use, grazing, etc.; FE: clear-cutting system, shelterwood system, selection system, etc.), species (tree species) composition (monocultures, mixed stand, etc.) on the functioning of grassland and forest ecosystems with soil health. The results of long-term field experiments and case studies of ecosystems on regional and global scales are particularly welcome.
This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that link the following themes:
- The physical, chemical and biological properties of soil in GE, FE;
- Biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon and nutrients in GE and FE;
- Soil organic matter (SOM), including dissolved organic matter (DOM), C sequestration and decomposition processes in GE and FE;
- Species (tree species) composition and management practices of GE and FE on soil health;
- The ecological stability of GE and FE.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.
Dr. Ladislav Menšík
Dr. Lukáš Hlisnikovský
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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
- ecology
- ecosystems
- grassland
- forest
- soil
- biogeochemical cycles
- carbon
- nutrients
- ecological stability
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