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Forests
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Forest Grazing
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Forest Grazing

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2023) | Viewed by 5109

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Apostolos P. Kyriazopoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Range Science, Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou str., 68200 Orestiada, Greece
Interests: rangeland ecology and management; grazing; agroforestry; grassland ecosystems; rangeland restoration; grazing behaviour; silvopastoral systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

Livestock grazing in forests and woodlands has traditionally been practiced in many parts of the world and is an important aspect of cultural and ecological heritage. It has been reported to enhance tree growth and promote biodiversity, while the livestock and wild herbivores are an important economic asset to many rural communities. Moreover, grazing in forests can be an essential tool in improving the efficiency of wildfire risk reduction in regions suffering from wildfires. Despite the above, forest grazing has not been widely accepted in Europe and elsewhere. There have been studies indicating that grazing herbivores decrease soil quality and pose a serious threat to the biodiversity and regenerative capacity of woody species, thus decreasing the social and economic value of multi-purpose forests.

In this Special Issue, we encourage experimental studies, surveys and reviews related to any aspect of forest grazing. Potential topics include sustainable grazing management techniques, monitoring approaches and models, social–ecological aspects, etc. We invite contributors to share knowledge, discuss current trends and form future ones.

Dr. Apostolos P. Kyriazopoulos
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

  • livestock
  • wild herbivores
  • woodland
  • browsing
  • silvopastoral systems
  • biodiversity
  • grazing management
  • foliar fodder
  • plant–animal interactions
  • forage

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 7993 KiB  
Article
Nutritional Status of Wood Melick (Melica uniflora Retz.) in a Natural Forest Stand in South-Western Poland
by Anna Paszkiewicz-Jasińska, Barbara Wróbel, Wojciech Stopa, Zuzanna Jakubowska, Aleksandra Steinhoff-Wrześniewska and Waldemar Zielewicz
Forests 2023, 14(8), 1605; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081605 - 09 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 784
Abstract
Melica uniflora Retz., commonly known as wood melick, is a grass species that is native to most of Europe. Melica uniflora grows in hardwood forests near Fagus species, providing vital food and shelter for forest wildlife. The nutritional status of wood melick is [...] Read more.
Melica uniflora Retz., commonly known as wood melick, is a grass species that is native to most of Europe. Melica uniflora grows in hardwood forests near Fagus species, providing vital food and shelter for forest wildlife. The nutritional status of wood melick is not sufficiently recognized. The study aims to identify the intrapopulation variability of Melica uniflora plants collected from natural forest habitats in Poland in terms of nutritional status variability in relation to stage development and the course of weather conditions. The research was conducted for two consecutive years: 2021 and 2022, in the area of the Ślęża Massif, near the town of Sobótka in Lower Silesia voivodeship (Poland). The material for analyses was collected from 10 natural forest sites twice: in July (I) and October (II). The content of nutritive components: crude protein (CP), crude ash (CA), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) was evaluated. Relative feed value (RFV), dry matter digestibility (DDM), dry matter intake (DMI), cellulose (CL), and hemicellulose (HCL) content were calculated based on ADF and NDF. Melica uniflora plants contained 75.2 g·kg−1 DM of CP, 290.6 g·kg−1 DM of CF, 120.0 g·kg−1 DM of CA, and 25.9 g·kg−1 DM of WSC. The content of NDF was 637.6 g·kg−1 DM, ADF 407.5 g·kg−1 DM, and ADL 58.0 g·kg−1 DM. The nutritional status of wood melick depended on the course of weather conditions in the following years and its location, which changed during the growing season. Plants collected in the first year of the study contained more CL, NDF, and ADF fractions and less CA, ADL, and WSC. Melica uniflora plants harvested in June were characterized by higher CP (102.1 g·kg−1 DM) and WSC (30.1 g·kg−1 DM) content and lower content of remaining nutrients. It can be concluded that Melica uniflora plants can be a valuable source of these nutrients in the forage of forest animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Grazing)
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16 pages, 4037 KiB  
Article
Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form
by Tomáš Lepeška, Michal Wiezik, Igor Gallay, Veronika Paulíková, Branislav Olah, María Rosa Mosquera Losada, Michal Pástor and Adela Wieziková
Forests 2023, 14(1), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14010068 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1864
Abstract
Wood pastures represent specific ecosystems across Europe with diverse ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic roles. Land-use changes and the cessation of traditional management in conjunction with socioeconomic changes led to shifts in their spatiotemporal distribution. Despite a recent increase in scientific interest, data on [...] Read more.
Wood pastures represent specific ecosystems across Europe with diverse ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic roles. Land-use changes and the cessation of traditional management in conjunction with socioeconomic changes led to shifts in their spatiotemporal distribution. Despite a recent increase in scientific interest, data on historical patterns of wood pastures in many European locations remain insufficient. This study presents wood-pasture habitat continuity and analyzes changes in their distribution over space and time in selected parts of Slovakia. Simultaneously, we analyzed the relation of wood pastures to selected environmental and landscape features. To achieve this, we examined the historical distribution of wood pastures using aerial imagery from the 1950s. We thoroughly examined an area of 16,209 km2 to identify preserved wood pastures. To identify the present conditions and the spatial distribution of wood-pasture habitats, we compared the historical data with recent ortophotomaps. Based on landscape–ecological analyses of historical distribution, we determined prevailing environmental conditions of wood-pasture locations. The findings reveal that over 90% of wood pastures from the first half of the 20th century have now been lost or encroached and preserved in the form of a closed-canopy forest. In most of the encroached sites, we identified the presence of vital core veteran trees. For the identification of wood pastures and further analyses of the environmental variables, the ArcGIS 10.3 program was used; the R software was used for all statistical evaluations. The results show that the studied wood pastures were not established randomly, but were rather set within a certain landscape context, characterized by elevation, soil quality, and distance from settlements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Grazing)
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16 pages, 1617 KiB  
Article
Livestock Grazing Impact on Species Composition and Richness Understory of the Pinus cembroides Zucc. Forest in Northeastern Mexico
by Juan A. Encina-Domínguez, Eduardo Estrada-Castillón, Miguel Mellado, Cristina González-Montelongo and José Ramón Arévalo
Forests 2022, 13(7), 1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13071113 - 15 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1756
Abstract
In the pine forests of Mexico, disturbances are primarily due to cattle, horses, goat, and sheep grazing, particularly in communal grazing lands. The most evident disturbances are low tree recruitment, invasive shrubs establishment, species composition changes, and invasion of weeds dispersed mainly by [...] Read more.
In the pine forests of Mexico, disturbances are primarily due to cattle, horses, goat, and sheep grazing, particularly in communal grazing lands. The most evident disturbances are low tree recruitment, invasive shrubs establishment, species composition changes, and invasion of weeds dispersed mainly by livestock. The Sierra de Zapalinamé is a mountain range and natural protected area of northeast Mexico. We conducted the current study in this area in a forest stand of Pinus cembroides excluded from grazing in the last 25 years (1200 ha with pine forest vegetation and mountain chaparral) and another area nearby subjected to livestock grazing. Forest structure (basal area and density), tree species richness, total understory species richness, and understory species composition were analyzed at the control and grazed sites. Our results revealed that grazing has modified the understory species composition and reduced the evenness in the control plots. Therefore, to maintain species diversity and forest structure, we concluded that extensive grazing should be restricted for some areas or the number of animals reduced in zones of high ecological value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Grazing)
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