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Forests
Special Issues
Forest and Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services and Management
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Forest and Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services and Management

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 2913

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jianping Wu

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Guest Editor
Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Geospatial Information Technology and Application, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Interests: forest ecosystem; soil organic carbon; remote sensing; climate change; urban forest ecosystem
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xin Xiong

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Guest Editor
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Neutrality and Ecosystem Carbon Sink, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, China
Interests: ecosystem carbon sink function; forest ecology and management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jianling Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Interests: soil carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems; soil organic carbon sequestration
Dr. Zhongbing Chang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Natural Resources Monitoring in Tropical and Subtropical Area of South China, Surveying and Mapping Institute Lands and Resource Department of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510663, China
Interests: remote sensing; forest biomass; forest carbon; ecosystem service; land use/cover change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests and urban green spaces are essential components of the global ecosystem, providing critical services that sustain both natural environments and human populations. These ecosystems contribute to carbon sequestration, water regulation, biodiversity conservation, and the enhancement of air and soil quality. Additionally, urban green spaces offer recreational and aesthetic benefits, contributing to human well-being and health.

This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge research focused on the ecological aspects of forest and urban green space ecosystems. We invite contributions that examine the interactions between these ecosystems and external factors such as climate change and land use and cover changes, and innovative management practices that enhance their resilience and sustainability. We welcome submissions that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Assessment of Ecosystem Services:
  • Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of ecosystem services provided by forests and urban green spaces.
  • Tools and methodologies for assessing these services at various scales.
  • Case studies highlighting the importance of ecosystem services in diverse regions.
  1. Interaction between Ecosystem and Climate Change/Land Use and Cover Change:
  • The impact of climate change on forest and urban green space ecosystems.
  • Adaptive management practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects.
  • The role of these ecosystems in climate regulation and their potential for carbon sequestration.
  • The effects of land use changes, such as urbanization and deforestation, on forest and urban green space ecosystems.
  • Strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of land use change on ecosystem services.
  • Monitoring and managing ecosystem changes in response to land use dynamics.
  1. Biodiversity and Conservation:
  • The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services in forest and urban green space environments.
  • Conservation strategies to preserve and enhance biodiversity in these ecosystems.
  • The effects of habitat fragmentation and urbanization on ecosystem services.
  1. Technological Innovations:
  • The application of remote sensing and GIS in monitoring and managing forest and urban green space ecosystems.
  • Advances in ecological modeling and big data analytics for ecosystem service assessment.
  • Technological solutions for the restoration and enhancement of ecosystem functions.
  1. Sustainable Management Practices:
  • Innovative strategies for the sustainable management of forests and urban green spaces.
  • Ecological restoration techniques aimed at enhancing ecosystem resilience.
  • Case studies on successful management practices in different ecological contexts.

Dr. Jianping Wu
Dr. Xin Xiong
Dr. Jianling Li
Dr. Zhongbing Chang
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.

Keywords

  • forest ecosystem
  • urban green space ecosystem
  • ecosystem services
  • forest management
  • climate change
  • land use and cover change

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6555 KiB  
Article
Mangrove Extraction from Compact Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Images Based on Optimal Feature Combinations
by Sijing Shu, Ji Yang, Wenlong Jing, Chuanxun Yang and Jianping Wu
Forests 2024, 15(11), 2047; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15112047 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 630
Abstract
As a polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode capable of simultaneously acquiring abundant surface information and conducting large-width observations, compact polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (CP SAR) holds great promise for mangrove dynamics monitoring. Nevertheless, there have been no studies on mangrove identification using [...] Read more.
As a polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode capable of simultaneously acquiring abundant surface information and conducting large-width observations, compact polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (CP SAR) holds great promise for mangrove dynamics monitoring. Nevertheless, there have been no studies on mangrove identification using CP SAR. This study aims to explore the potential of C-band CP SAR for mangrove monitoring applications, with the objective of identifying the most effective CP SAR descriptors for mangrove discrimination. A systematic comparison of 52 well-known CP features is provided, utilizing CP SAR data derived from the reconstruction of C-band Gaofen-3 quad-polarimetric data. Among all the features, Shannon entropy (SE), a random polarimetric constituent (VB), Shannon entropy (SEI), and the Bragg backscattering constituent (VG) exhibited the best performance. By combining these four features, we designed three supervised classifiers—support vector machine (SVM), maximum likelihood (ML), and artificial neural network (ANN)—for comparative analysis experiments. The results demonstrated that the optimal polarimetric feature combination not only reduced the redundancy of polarimetric feature data but also enhanced overall accuracy. The highest accuracy of mangrove extraction reached 98.04%. Among the three classifiers, SVM outperformed the other classifiers in mangrove extraction, while ML achieved the highest overall classification accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest and Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services and Management)
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19 pages, 8187 KiB  
Article
Impact of Climate and Vegetation Dynamics on the Ecosystem Services of Subtropical Forests—A Case Study of Baishanzu National Park Area, China
by Jiahui Zhong, Hongwen Yao, Wei Liu, Yong Zhang, Jie Lin, Jiang Jiang and Chaorui Wang
Forests 2024, 15(11), 1850; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15111850 - 23 Oct 2024
Viewed by 831
Abstract
Forest ecosystems, as the primary component of terrestrial ecosystems, provide essential ecosystem services (ESs) critical for sustainable human development. However, changes in climate and vegetation can alter these forest ESs. Understanding the complex relationships between regional climate, vegetation, and ESs is key to [...] Read more.
Forest ecosystems, as the primary component of terrestrial ecosystems, provide essential ecosystem services (ESs) critical for sustainable human development. However, changes in climate and vegetation can alter these forest ESs. Understanding the complex relationships between regional climate, vegetation, and ESs is key to ensuring the sustainable management of forest ESs. Therefore, this study, using Baishanzu National Park as a case example, analyzed the impacts of regional climate and vegetation dynamics (vegetation coverage, forest type, and forest structure) on forest ESs, specifically water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), net primary productivity (NPP), and habitat quality (HQ). The results indicate that from 2000 to 2020, the forest Composite Index of Ecosystem Services (CIES) in Baishanzu National Park increased. Climate and vegetation dynamics have significant effects on forest ESs. Specifically, changes in WY and SC are primarily influenced by climate change, while changes in NPP and HQ are mainly affected by changes in forest type and structure. Complex trade-offs and synergies exist among different ESs, and the driving mechanisms of climate and vegetation changes on ES variations are also complex, involving both direct and indirect effects, with significant spatial heterogeneity. This study provides important references for the sustainable management and appropriate restoration of regional forest ESs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest and Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services and Management)
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17 pages, 7671 KiB  
Article
Carbon Sequestration and Landscape Influences in Urban Greenspace Coverage Variability: A High-Resolution Remote Sensing Study in Luohe, China
by Jing Huang, Peihao Song, Xiaojuan Liu, Ang Li, Xinyu Wang, Baoguo Liu and Yuan Feng
Forests 2024, 15(11), 1849; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15111849 - 23 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1011
Abstract
Urbanization has significantly altered urban landscape patterns, leading to a continuous reduction in the proportion of green spaces. As critical carbon sinks in urban carbon cycles, urban green spaces play an indispensable role in mitigating climate change. This study aims to evaluate the [...] Read more.
Urbanization has significantly altered urban landscape patterns, leading to a continuous reduction in the proportion of green spaces. As critical carbon sinks in urban carbon cycles, urban green spaces play an indispensable role in mitigating climate change. This study aims to evaluate the carbon capture and storage potential of urban green spaces in Luohe, China, and identify the landscape factors influencing carbon sequestration. The research combines on-site data collection with high-resolution remote sensing, utilizing the i-Tree Eco model to estimate carbon sequestration rates across areas with varying levels of greenery. The study reveals that the carbon sequestration capacity of urban green spaces in Luohe City is 1.30 t·C·ha−1·yr−1. Among various vegetation indices, the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) explains urban green space carbon sequestration most effectively through an exponential model (R2 = 0.65, AIC = 136.5). At the city-wide scale, areas with higher greening rates, better connectivity, and more complex edge morphology exhibit superior carbon sequestration efficiency. The explanatory power of key landscape indices on carbon sequestration is 78% across the study area, with variations of 71.5%, 62%, and 84.9% for low, medium, and high greening rate areas, respectively. Moreover, when greening rates reach a certain threshold, maintaining and optimizing the quality of existing green spaces becomes more critical than simply expanding the green area. These insights provide valuable guidance for urban planners and policymakers on enhancing the ecological functions of urban green spaces during urban development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest and Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services and Management)
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