This Research Topic has been developed in collaboration with
Dominik Schüssler of the University of Hildesheim.
According to the article by Chazdon & Brancalion “Restoring forests as a means to many ends”, restoration and sustainable management of forests throughout the world represent one of the most important goals of our century. Forests are of great importance for manifold ecosystem services such as the production of timber and non-timber forest products, global water and nutrient cycles, and climate change mitigation. Nevertheless, forests continue to decline worldwide (see
Global Forest Watch). The reasons for forest loss are manifold, including land-use change towards agriculture, unsustainable forest management, urbanization, mining, and wildfires.
In some places of the world, forest ecosystems and silviculture are already negatively affected by climate change. For example, in temperate regions, increased periods of drought have led to increased fire intensity and sensitivity for pests which resulted in forest loss in large areas. In many regions in the world, and particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions, local communities often depend directly on natural forest resources, and thus forest degradation and loss negatively impact their socio-economic development. In order to combat forest loss and further forest degradation, reforestation and ecosystem restoration is necessary; but this requires innovative concepts which encompass ecological, social, and economic aspects to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This Research Topic aims to discuss the major drivers of current forest loss and outline concepts and solutions for sustainable forest management and forest restoration. The topic is open for contributions from forest ecosystems worldwide. However, a major focus will be given to forests in tropical and sub-tropical regions as here the linkage between conservation and forest/land use is particularly complex.
We welcome papers that focus on the following topics:
• Current drivers of deforestation
• Linkages between forest loss and human well-being
• Role of forest frontiers regions for forest restoration and management
• Innovative concepts for forest restoration and sustainable forest management
• Adaptation of forest management and restoration to climate change
• Indicators for and monitoring of sustainable forest management
• Community forest management
• Agroforestry
