Dear Colleagues,

At a time of dynamic environmental changes, especially climate change, the increasingly frequent occurrence of extreme weather conditions and large-scale forest depletion and disturbance and soil and trophic conditions remains one of the basic tree growth factors. Trees, in turn, hugely impact the remaining components of forest ecosystems, including vegetation of the undergrowth and animals through crown density, regulation of temperature and light conditions, as well as litter fall, root systems, and competition. Therefore, the stability of tree stands determines the dynamics of forest ecosystems and the widely understood natural environment. Moreover, production of timber, raw wood, and biomass, as well as CO2 absorption, are some of the basic functions of tree stands and forest ecosystems. On the other hand, in recent years, changes and increases in productivity related to growing CO2 concentration and nitrogen deposition and a rise in average air temperature have been reported. As a result of a combination of these factors and increment in above-ground biomass associated with a greater supply of nitrogen, deficiencies of other macroelements and dysfunctions in mineral nutrition of trees may occur. In addition to the supply of macroelements and their relationships, the impact of soil pollutant concentration of, for instance, heavy metals in some regions is still crucial. The significance of droughts and disturbed water relations on the condition of stands has also emerged. In the assessment of tree reactions to environmental stress and determination of habitat productivity, appropriate assessment of trophic conditions of soils is important, e.g., using soil quality indices and modeling tree growth with the so-called geocentric models. Nonetheless, in understanding the correlations between the soil and tree stands, comparison of research results from nondisturbed systems (natural forests) and managed forests may prove very useful. Taking into account the above scientific questions and the need to obtain results from the latest international expert research, we would like to devote a Special Edition of Forests to these issues. The results of the latest research in this field will lead to the formulation of most important conclusions as well as research problems to be solved.

Prof. Marcin Pietrzykowski
Guest Editor

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• Tree growth
• Tree stands
• Soil quality
• Environmental changes
• Tree stand productivity