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Forests
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Ecological Restoration and Soil Amelioration in Forest Ecosystem
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Ecological Restoration and Soil Amelioration in Forest Ecosystem

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 May 2024 | Viewed by 3126

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Chang Seok Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Bio and Environmental Technology, Seoul Women’s University, Seoul 01797, Republic of Korea
Interests: restoration ecology; vegetation restoration; soil amelioration; climate change; phenology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The human impact of exceeding the buffer capacity of the ecosystem prevents the ecosystem from maintaining its normal structure and function. Excessive land use, along with excessive use of fossil fuels, is emerging as a major factor that causes ecological imbalances at both the local and global levels and ultimately threatens the stability of the entire global environment. The rapidly progressing climate change is also an example of a functional imbalance between greenhouse gas sources and their absorption sources. Ecological restoration is used as a useful tool to mitigate, delay, and recover from these adverse effects that humans have had on the global ecosystem. Ecological restoration becomes a means of solving the insurmountable part of engineering technology that is governed by thermodynamic laws in dealing with environmental problems.

The international community's efforts to address climate change initially focused on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, but today's shift to carbon neutrality is the result of the correct recognition of this ecological background. "Nature-based solution" and "UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration" were created in this context. The restoration of the forest, which is the most diverse and stable among the ecosystems, is a leading part of this paradigm shift. However, forest restoration is still often in conflict between afforestation and ecological restoration. In addition, for the restored ecosystem to maximize its function, reference information that places the introduced vegetation in the optimal ecological range is important.

This Special Issue is aimed at providing case studies of ecological restoration of forests that are achieved by accepting the principle of ecological restoration beyond afforestation.

Prof. Dr. Chang Seok Lee
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

  • afforestation
  • ecological imbalance
  • ecological restoration
  • forest
  • reference information

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2372 KiB  
Article
Effect of Forest Fires on the Alpha and Beta Diversity of Soil Bacteria in Taiga Forests: Proliferation of Rare Species as Successional Pioneers
by Zhichao Cheng, Song Wu, Hong Pan, Xinming Lu, Yongzhi Liu and Libin Yang
Forests 2024, 15(4), 606; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15040606 - 27 Mar 2024
Viewed by 509
Abstract
Forest fires are among the most influential drivers of changes in forest soil bacterial diversity. Nevertheless, little is known regarding the effects of forest fires on maintaining the complex interactions that preserve forest ecosystem stability. Therefore, this study characterized alterations in soil bacterial [...] Read more.
Forest fires are among the most influential drivers of changes in forest soil bacterial diversity. Nevertheless, little is known regarding the effects of forest fires on maintaining the complex interactions that preserve forest ecosystem stability. Therefore, this study characterized alterations in soil bacterial community composition and diversity within taiga forests subjected to varying disturbance intensities. Particularly, this study examined the bacterial community within a Larix gmelinii fire-burnt site in Daxinganling, analyzing the changes in bacterial community structure and function across light, moderate, and heavy fire-burnt sites, as well as a control sample site, utilizing Illumina MiSeq technology. Through an assessment of bacterial community diversity and soil physicochemical properties (moisture content (MC), pH, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AP)), we explored the influence of the soil microenvironment on the soil bacterial community structure at the burnt site under different disturbance intensities. Our findings demonstrated that (1) there was no significant change in the Chao index of soil bacteria in the burnt site under different disturbance intensities, whereas the Shannon index decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and the Simpson index increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the burnt site under light and moderate disturbance. (2) The relative abundance of dominant phyla, such as Proteobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteriota, did not change significantly in the fire-burnt site under different disturbance intensities, whereas rare species, such as Acidipila, Occallatibacter, and Acidibacter, experienced a significant increase in relative abundance at the genus level. (3) The results of principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) revealed significant differences in the Beta diversity of soil bacteria in the fire-burnt site under varying interference intensities. The Beta diversity of soil bacteria exhibited significant differences (p = 0.001), with MC, pH, TN, AN, and AK identified as significant influencing factors. (4) FAPROTAX functional prediction analyses were conducted to assess the changes in soil bacteria involved in Cellulolysis, Chemoheterotrophy, and Aerobic_Chemoheterotrophy in the fire-burnt site, with the relative abundance of bacteria involved in Chemoheterotrophy being significantly increased (p < 0.05) under different disturbance intensities. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that different disturbance intensities caused by fires significantly affected the Alpha diversity, Beta diversity, and functional abundance of soil bacterial communities in taiga forests, with MC, pH, TN, AN, and AK being identified as key influencing factors. Additionally, the presence of numerous rare species suggests their role as pioneer communities in the succession of soil bacterial communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Soil Amelioration in Forest Ecosystem)
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15 pages, 3206 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Different Vegetation Restoration Types on Soil Quality in Mountainous Areas of Beijing
by Peng Li, Shi Qi, Lin Zhang, Ying Tang, Jinlin Lai, Ruien Liao, Dai Zhang, Yan Zhang, Jun Hu, Jinsheng Lu and Xiangyu Wang
Forests 2023, 14(12), 2374; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14122374 - 05 Dec 2023
Viewed by 644
Abstract
Soil quality is a very important indicator used to assess ecosystem restoration states in terms of vegetation recovery and establishment. Evaluating the soil quality of different vegetation restoration types in mountainous areas of Beijing and identifying their influencing factors would provide a scientific [...] Read more.
Soil quality is a very important indicator used to assess ecosystem restoration states in terms of vegetation recovery and establishment. Evaluating the soil quality of different vegetation restoration types in mountainous areas of Beijing and identifying their influencing factors would provide a scientific basis and be helpful for vegetation restoration in the future. Six vegetation types (or communities), including Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco pure forest (POP), Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. pure forest (PTP), Platycladus orientalis–Pinus tabulaeformis mixed forest (PPM), Platycladus orientalis coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest (POCB), Pinus tabulaeformis coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest (PTCB), deciduous broadleaved mixed forest (DBMF), and one area of non-afforested land (NF), with similar stand conditions were selected and fourteen factors of soil physical and chemical characteristics were measured and used to establish a total data set (TDS), while a minimum data set (MDS) was obtained by using the principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson correlation analysis methods. Two scoring methods, linear (L) and non-linear (NL), were used to calculate the soil quality index (SQI), and the key factors influencing soil quality by vegetation were identified by a general linear model (GLM), PCA, and correlation analysis. The results showed that: (1) The screened MDS indicators which showed good relationships with the SQIs in the study areas were total nitrogen (TN), sand content, total potassium (TK), pH, and available water capacity (AWC). The SQI–NLM method has better applicability. (2) The contribution rates of vegetation to different soil factors accounted for 28.644% (TN), 21.398% (sand content), 24.551% (TK), 16.075% (pH), and 9.332% (AWC). (3) TN showed a positive relationship with all vegetation types; the content of TN in PTCB and DBMF was obviously larger than in the other types in the 0–10 cm layer; PPM, PTCB, and POCB affected the sand content, which showed negative correlativity; and DBMF showed positive correlativity with AWC. The mechanism of how different species affect TN, sand content, and AWC should be focused on and taken into consideration in further studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Soil Amelioration in Forest Ecosystem)
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12 pages, 2518 KiB  
Article
Effects of Adding Native Annual Seeds to South Korea Native Perennial Seed Mixture on Early Stage Vegetation Recovery, Soil Enzymes, and Nutrient Dynamics in Post-Fire Soils
by Hyun-Gi Min, June Wee, Namin Koo and Jeong-Gyu Kim
Forests 2023, 14(12), 2281; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14122281 - 21 Nov 2023
Viewed by 666
Abstract
Forests are degraded from various factors, and the first step in restoration frequently involves revegetation. One of the degradations is wildfires, which damage vegetation, affect soils, and lead to the loss of ecosystem functions. Using seed mixtures is a viable method for restoring [...] Read more.
Forests are degraded from various factors, and the first step in restoration frequently involves revegetation. One of the degradations is wildfires, which damage vegetation, affect soils, and lead to the loss of ecosystem functions. Using seed mixtures is a viable method for restoring the ecosystems. This research investigated the impacts of six perennial plant seed mixtures derived from native plants in South Korea and the addition of two types of annual plant seeds to these mixtures, both separately and combined. Cultivation of the seed mixtures was conducted by pot cultivation in a greenhouse for the early stage of vegetation (16 weeks). The seed mixture treatment enhanced plant species diversity, number, and biomass. The seed mixture treatment elevated the urease activity from 14.42 to values between 33.88 and 55.74 μg NH4-N g−1 2 h−1. A seed mixture integrated with two annual plants heightened the phosphomonoesterase activity from 482.79 to 543.75 μg p-nitrophenol g−1 h−1. Nitrogen leaching was reduced across all seed mixture treatments, while phosphorus leaching diminished with the addition of the annual legume. These findings illustrate the influence of seed mixture treatments and the inclusion of annual seeds on the beginning stage of revegetation, offering a basis for further ecosystem restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Soil Amelioration in Forest Ecosystem)
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17 pages, 4719 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the 20-Year Restoration Process in an Air-Pollution-Damaged Forest near the Ulsan Industrial Complex, Korea
by Dong-Uk Kim, Bong-Soon Lim, Ji-Eun Seok, Gyung-Soon Kim, Jeong-Sook Moon, Chi-Hong Lim and Chang-Seok Lee
Forests 2023, 14(8), 1565; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081565 - 31 Jul 2023
Viewed by 885
Abstract
A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of restoration practices in a forest ecosystem near the Ulsan Industrial Complex in southeastern Korea. The calcium and magnesium contents in the soil, as well as the soil pH, increased after the application of a [...] Read more.
A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of restoration practices in a forest ecosystem near the Ulsan Industrial Complex in southeastern Korea. The calcium and magnesium contents in the soil, as well as the soil pH, increased after the application of a soil ameliorator but decreased again after 20 years. Meanwhile, the aluminum content presented the opposite trend. After restoration, the species composition and diversity of vegetation tended to differ from that of the non-restored site over time while continuously becoming more similar to that of the reference site. The ratio of exotic plant species was lower than that at the non-restored site but higher than that at the reference site. The frequency distribution for the diameter class of oaks established through restoration presented a reverse J-shaped pattern, and thus, they can be maintained continuously; similar results were obtained for the reference site. In sum, the forest ecosystem near the industrial park—which had been severely degraded due to air pollution and soil acidification—was restored to a forest close to natural conditions through restorative treatments, including the neutralization of acidic soil and the introduction of tolerant species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Soil Amelioration in Forest Ecosystem)
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