Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fabiano Ximenes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Forest Science, NSW Department of Primary Industries—Forestry, Level 30, 4 Parramatta Square, 12 Darcy St., Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia
Interests: carbon; biomass; bioenergy; wood products; life cycle assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recently released IPCC Sixth Assessment Report has once again highlighted the critical role that sustainable forest management can play in the mitigation of climate change. On the one hand, carbon storage in harvested wood products and likely associated beneficial substitution impacts can increase as forest harvest increases, but at a risk of decreasing carbon stocks in forest biomass if the forests are not managed sustainably. Conversely, a reduction in forest harvest activity may lead to forest carbon gains; however, these gains may be offset if international demand for wood products results in forest degradation or deforestation elsewhere. The complex nature of these relationships requires careful consideration of the many aspects of the forest and harvested wood product carbon dynamics, including the need to landscape level analyses, in order to avoid perverse environmental outcomes.

This Special Issue plans to highlight the latest approaches to determine the climate implications of forest management. It aims to provide contributions that represent varied forest management strategies and the implications on carbon balances across various parts of the world.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Greenhouse balance of forest management;
Optimal management of forests for climate mitigation outcomes;
Options for sustainable use of forestry residues;
Novel forest biomass-derived bioproduct development
Implications of the use of forest biomass for bioenergy generation.

Dr. Fabiano Ximenes
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

carbon
biomass
forests
climate change
mitigation
bioenergy
wood products

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

11 pages, 3124 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Carbon Productivity Dynamics in Aspen Stands under Climate Change Based on Forest Inventories in Central Siberia

by Andrey Andreevich Vais, Valentina Valerievna Popova, Alina Andreevna Andronova, Viktor Nikolaevich Nemich, Artem Gennadievich Nepovinnykh and Pavel Vladimirovich Mikhaylov

Forests 2023, 14(1), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14010109 - 05 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1659

Abstract

The aim of the present research was to study the dynamics of growth and conditions of aspen stands under climate change, according to different periods of forest inventory. The study was conducted in modal aspen forests growing in the subtaiga/forest steppe region of Central Siberia. Aspen forests grow intensively at young age, which allows them to realize maximum carbon sequestration potential. The research was based on forest inventory data from 1972, 1982, 2002, and 2021 (the study was conducted on a limited territory). There was a steady increase in temperatures in the growing season from 1982 to 2002. The amount of precipitation in the same season and period, however, did not exceed the median value. With an increase in the sum of temperatures in 1982–2002 from 1800 °C to 2100 °C, carbon stored in the stands increased from 0.56 to 1.48 tons C/ha per year. This statement is true for pure aspen forests aged from 10 to 30 years. There is a certain (although indirect) influence that climate trends have on aspen forests’ carbon dynamics. There was a decrease in the average carbon increment in aspen forests from the age of 40. After 55 years, the average carbon increment values in the aspen forests leveled off, and the differences depending on the stand composition became insignificant. Along with an increase in biomass increment with age, aspen stands started losing resilience, and trees began to die due to natural and pathogenic mortality. At ages between 50 and 80, carbon emission increased from 1 to 12 tons C/ha. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass, Carbon Neutrality, and Climate Change Mitigation)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

0 pages, 2146 KiB

Open AccessReview

Climate Smart Forestry in the Southern United States

by Noah T. Shephard, Lana Narine, Yucheng Peng and Adam Maggard

Forests 2022, 13(9), 1460; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091460 - 11 Sep 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6506 | Correction

Abstract

In the United States, Climate Smart Forestry (CSF) has quickly become a popular topic within the academic, political, and industry realms, without substantial delineation of what exactly CSF is. In this review, the aim is to provide a broad overview of CSF by highlighting one of the most productive and prolific forest systems in the United States, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations. One major objective of CSF is to increase forest carbon storage to combat rising atmospheric carbon or climate change mitigation. Fortuitously, increased forest carbon storage can work harmoniously with on-going Southern pine plantation forestry. With a Southern commercial focus, we show (1) traditional plantation practices such as genetic improvement, site preparation, weed control, and fertilization have aided increased forest carbon storage; (2) forest products and forest product carbon are essential to increase carbon storage beyond the stand-carbon baseline; (3) forest carbon data collection must be improved to realize climate change mitigation goals; and (4) additional avenues for future CSF research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Biomass, Carbon Neutrality, and Climate Change Mitigation)

► Show Figures