The monitoring of biodiversity in the European forests through the study of ecological indicators (e.g., stand structure, deadwood, microhabitat, saproxylic species) is necessary to support and strengthen ecologically sustainable management. Therefore, the success, or failure, of management depends on ecologists and forest practices to sustain biological diversity. Indicators are quantitative, qualitative, or descriptive parameters that correspond to a specific criterion, and that can be measured over time based on field surveys and remote sensing data. Accurate and timely information on forest biodiversity is necessary to assess the conservation status of forest ecosystems and to support management at the stand and landscape level.
Recently, microhabitats have attracted the attention of scientists as indicators classically used in forest biodiversity monitoring, with a complementary role compared to common indicators such as deadwood and large trees. The definition of detailed protocols for the refinement of existing approaches and the assessment of the diversity of forest ecosystems is required. Considering that the use of biodiversity indicators in forest monitoring has increased in the last decades as tools to support forest management, this upcoming Research Topic on “Forest biodiversity indicators to support the ecologically sustainable management of European forests” asks for original research papers addressed to the conservation status of forest biodiversity at the stand and landscape level.
We invite contributions that address the benefits and challenges of forest biodiversity conservation in managed and unmanaged forests by presenting evidence of case studies from European forests representing different ecological groups and types of conservation areas in forest management frameworks. This Research Topic should contribute to the development and improvement of new or existing methodological approaches and indicators for assessing forest biodiversity. All the above issues underline the need for biodiversity indicators to support ecologically sustainable management in Europe and reconcile land management with biodiversity conservation at all levels, from species, populations to ecosystems.
In this Research Topic, we look for scientifically sound manuscripts with relevance in at least one of the following topics:
- state-of-the-art and scientific advances on biodiversity indicators for forest monitoring;
- use of scientifically recognized indicators to assess forest biodiversity;
- use of indicators to study the influence of forest management on biodiversity;
- development of new methods and indicators for assessing forest biodiversity.
The monitoring of biodiversity in the European forests through the study of ecological indicators (e.g., stand structure, deadwood, microhabitat, saproxylic species) is necessary to support and strengthen ecologically sustainable management. Therefore, the success, or failure, of management depends on ecologists and forest practices to sustain biological diversity. Indicators are quantitative, qualitative, or descriptive parameters that correspond to a specific criterion, and that can be measured over time based on field surveys and remote sensing data. Accurate and timely information on forest biodiversity is necessary to assess the conservation status of forest ecosystems and to support management at the stand and landscape level.
Recently, microhabitats have attracted the attention of scientists as indicators classically used in forest biodiversity monitoring, with a complementary role compared to common indicators such as deadwood and large trees. The definition of detailed protocols for the refinement of existing approaches and the assessment of the diversity of forest ecosystems is required. Considering that the use of biodiversity indicators in forest monitoring has increased in the last decades as tools to support forest management, this upcoming Research Topic on “Forest biodiversity indicators to support the ecologically sustainable management of European forests” asks for original research papers addressed to the conservation status of forest biodiversity at the stand and landscape level.
We invite contributions that address the benefits and challenges of forest biodiversity conservation in managed and unmanaged forests by presenting evidence of case studies from European forests representing different ecological groups and types of conservation areas in forest management frameworks. This Research Topic should contribute to the development and improvement of new or existing methodological approaches and indicators for assessing forest biodiversity. All the above issues underline the need for biodiversity indicators to support ecologically sustainable management in Europe and reconcile land management with biodiversity conservation at all levels, from species, populations to ecosystems.
In this Research Topic, we look for scientifically sound manuscripts with relevance in at least one of the following topics:
- state-of-the-art and scientific advances on biodiversity indicators for forest monitoring;
- use of scientifically recognized indicators to assess forest biodiversity;
- use of indicators to study the influence of forest management on biodiversity;
- development of new methods and indicators for assessing forest biodiversity.