Dear Colleagues,

Forests perform crucial ecological, landscape, social, and economic functions for human, animal, and plant life. These functions include the production of oxygen and supplementation of its resources in the atmosphere, as trees bind carbon dioxide and thus reduce the greenhouse effect, in addition to reducing air pollution and regulating the hydrological cycle. Forested areas have long been home to animals, and, as a source of production, are sites for the harvesting of timber, undergrowth, game, and raw materials for the food industry today. They also serve as important sites for tourist and recreational use, as direct contact with nature has been proven to have significant health benefits for general well-being. The therapeutic, mental, and physical benefits of being in the forest, especially for those who live in urban areas, are enormous. Sustained periods of time spent among trees provides a calming effect, mood elevation, and reduction in stress levels. Moreover, forests ionize the air and affect the topoclimate, providing a reduction in temperature during hot weather, and mitigating and reducing the cold in the winter. As such, forests not only shape health and recreational conditions but can also serve as a source of education and environmental awareness. Accordingly, sustainable development implies a balance between economic and human development and nature, which can be achieved by properly influencing socio-economic conditions and managing environmental resources. Therefore, this Special Issue will focus on the results of research on sustainable tourism and recreation in forests, forest planning, and management in terms of the development of social functions—specifically, the pro-health effects of forests on human physical and mental well-being.

This Special Issue welcomes papers focusing on topics including (but not limited to) the following:

• Forms of tourism and tourism infrastructure in forests;
• Ecosystem services in forest landscapes;
• Problems of tourism development in forest areas;
• Valuation methods of the non-reproductive functions of forests;
• The valorization of forests for tourism and recreation purposes;
• The role of suburban forests;
• The importance of individual forest plant communities for tourism and recreation;
• The role of forest tourism and recreation in the education of children and young people;
• Psychosocial aspects of tourist activity in forests;
• The effects of tourist penetration in forests.

Dr. Bogusława Baran-Zgłobicka
Prof. Dr. Wojciech Zgłobicki
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.

• spatial planning
• ecosystem services
• conservation forests
• recreation and leisure
• forest plant communities
• spatial forest management
• active tourism