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Forests
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Urban Forests and Landscape Ecology—Series II
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Urban Forests and Landscape Ecology—Series II

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 8385

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia
Interests: climate change; vulnerability; plant ecophysiology; ecology; species distribution modelling; urban ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban forests are a priority for basic and applied forest research, because they are intimately connected with people’s physical, cultural, and economic well-being in the urban environment, and can also be important reservoirs of biodiversity. Landscape ecology provides a critical perspective for understanding and managing urban forests. Like all forests, urban forests exist in spatially complex configurations that affect key processes, including growth, reproduction, and interactions with animal mutualists and commensals, which also link forests to surrounding non-forest habitats. Therefore, urbanization’s direct impacts on forests are modified (and often compounded) by concurrent, indirect impacts via changes to forests’ spatial configurations and surrounding habitats. To promote a better understanding of urban forests and landscape ecology, we invite all studies (1) set in urban forests and (2) focused on some spatially explicit process, to contribute to this Special Issue. Landscape and urban ecology are both highly interdisciplinary, so a wide range of research approaches (experiments, models, remote sensing, sociological, or economic collaborations) are welcome. We particularly encourage studies from rapidly urbanizing areas in the global South and developing countries that are underrepresented in the current literature.

Dr. Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez
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

  • global change
  • fragmentation
  • edge effects
  • meta-community
  • meta-population
  • connectivity
  • urbanization
  • remote sensing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 5086 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Nitrogen in Four Forest Types of Shushan Urban Forest Park
by Mimi Wang, Jun Cui, Haiyang Liu and Xiaoniu Xu
Forests 2023, 14(7), 1498; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f14071498 - 21 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1002
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the role of plantation forests and natural secondary forests in controlling soil physicochemical properties and microbial biomass in urban forest ecosystems. (1) Background: Urban forests provide numerous benefits to urban ecosystems, but the interaction between forest stands and [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the role of plantation forests and natural secondary forests in controlling soil physicochemical properties and microbial biomass in urban forest ecosystems. (1) Background: Urban forests provide numerous benefits to urban ecosystems, but the interaction between forest stands and soil properties in controlling soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to examine how different forest types (plantation forests and natural secondary forests) influence soil physicochemical properties and microbial biomass in urban forest ecosystems. (2) Methods: We conducted a study in Shushan Urban Forest Park, Hefei, China, utilizing redundancy analysis and linear regression analyses to identify key environmental factors affecting the microbial distribution and significant correlations between soil properties and microbial biomass. (3) Results: Plantation forests generally had lower pH, water content, and organic carbon and nutrient content than natural forests. Natural forests exhibited higher microbial biomass and nutrient cycling capacity. Soil depth and forest type have significant effects on soil properties and microbial biomass in both growing and dormant seasons, with practical implications for forest management and soil conservation in similar ecosystems. Soil water content (SWC), pH, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and soil organic carbon (SOC) were identified as key factors affecting microbial carbon and nitrogen distribution during both growing and dormant seasons. Our study provides important insights into the role of forest stands and soil physicochemical properties in controlling soil microbial biomass in urban forest ecosystems. Effective forest management strategies should be developed to promote sustainable and resilient forest ecosystems. Future research should investigate the underlying mechanisms driving these relationships and focus on promoting sustainable and resilient urban forest ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Landscape Ecology—Series II)
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13 pages, 3863 KiB  
Article
Tree Cover Improved the Species Diversity of Understory Spontaneous Herbs in a Small City
by Yimin Ren, Min Guo, Fangyuan Yin, Ming-Juan Zhang and Jiaxing Wei
Forests 2022, 13(8), 1310; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13081310 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2097
Abstract
A large number of trees have been planted in built-up areas to improve the urban environment, but the effects of tree cover on spontaneous understory herbs are not yet well understood. This study surveyed spontaneous herbs in two kinds of habitats (habitats with [...] Read more.
A large number of trees have been planted in built-up areas to improve the urban environment, but the effects of tree cover on spontaneous understory herbs are not yet well understood. This study surveyed spontaneous herbs in two kinds of habitats (habitats with and without tree cover) in the built-up area of the small city Junlian in Sichuan Province, China. A total of 222 species of spontaneous herbaceous plants in 180 genera of 71 families were recorded, including a vulnerable species and six species endemic to China. Although the overall species richness values were similar in the two kinds of habitat, the average species richness per quadrat of all plants, perennials, plants with the dwarf growth form, and animal-dispersed plants was significantly higher in the habitats with tree cover than in those without tree cover. The overall species association was significantly positive in the habitats with tree cover (VR = 1.51, p < 0.05) and neural (VR = 0.86) in the habitats without tree cover. Among the top 25 frequently recorded species in each kind of habitat, the species association of plants with the same trait combination type differed greatly in the two kinds of habitats. For the species association between annuals, only 13.33% of species pairs were significantly associated in the habitats with tree cover, while 22.22% of the species pairs were significantly negatively associated in the habitats without tree cover. For the species association between plants with tall growth forms, the proportion of significant positive associations in the habitats with tree cover was approximately twice than in the habitats without tree cover. For the species association between plants with the dwarf growth form, the proportion of negative associations in the habitats without tree cover was approximately twice that in the habitats with tree cover. Species with the same dispersal mode generally had a very low proportion of negative interspecific associations or a high proportion of positive interspecific associations in habitats unfavorable to their establishment. Our findings suggest that tree cover can improve the species richness of the spontaneous herbaceous species beneath them and profoundly influence interspecific coexistence relationships in a built-up area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Landscape Ecology—Series II)
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15 pages, 3152 KiB  
Article
(Re)Designing Urban Parks to Maximize Urban Heat Island Mitigation by Natural Means
by Victor L. Barradas, Jennifer A. Miranda, Manuel Esperón-Rodríguez and Monica Ballinas
Forests 2022, 13(7), 1143; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f13071143 - 20 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4558
Abstract
Urban trees play a key role in mitigating urban heat by cooling the local environment. However, the cooling benefit that trees can provide is influenced by differences in species traits and site-specific environmental conditions. Fifteen dominant urban tree species in parks from Mexico [...] Read more.
Urban trees play a key role in mitigating urban heat by cooling the local environment. However, the cooling benefit that trees can provide is influenced by differences in species traits and site-specific environmental conditions. Fifteen dominant urban tree species in parks from Mexico City were selected considering physiological traits (i.e., transpiration and stomatal conductance) and aesthetic and morphological characteristics. Species’ physiological performance was measured to explore the potential of trees to reduce urban heat load. Data were collected over a 4-week period in the months of April and May 2020, the warmest and driest months of the year in Mexico City. We used the Thermal UrbaN Environment Energy (TUNEE) balance model to calculate the cooling benefit of each species and the number of individuals necessary to reduce local air temperature. The highest midday transpiration was registered for Liquidambar styraciflua L. (0.0357 g m−2 s−1) and the lowest for Buddleja cordata H.B.K (0.0089 g m−2 s−1), representing an energy consumption and cooling potential of 87.13 and 21.69 J m−2 s−1, respectively. Similarly, the highest stomatal conductance was recorded for L. styraciflua., whereas the lowest was recorded for B. cordata. Based on the species transpiration rates and aesthetic characteristics, we developed a proposal and outline for a 50 × 50 m urban park (i.e., park community) consisting of six species with 19 individuals, and according to the TUNEE model, the proposed arrangement can reduce air temperature up to 5.3 °C. Our results can help urban planners to (re)design urban parks to mitigate urban heat while increasing urban tree diversity in parks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Forests and Landscape Ecology—Series II)
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