Wildfires are major ecological disturbances that profoundly influence forest soils, altering hydrological processes, biogeochemical cycling, microbial functioning, and ecosystem recovery. As wildfire regimes continue to change under changing climatic conditions, understanding post-fire soil responses has become a critical priority for sustainable forest management and restoration. However, the rapidly expanding wildfire–soil literature remains fragmented across multiple disciplines, limiting integrated understanding of the mechanisms governing soil recovery and ecosystem resilience. This study combined bibliometric analysis with mechanistic thematic synthesis to examine the evolution and conceptual structure of wildfire–soil research and synthesize the principal thematic domains concerning wildfire impacts on forest soils. A total of 1938 publications indexed in the Scopus database between 1977 and 2025 were analysed using keyword co-occurrence, multiple correspondence analysis, thematic evolution, and collaboration network analyses. The identified thematic patterns guided an integrated synthesis of post-fire hydrological, biogeochemical, microbial, and ecological responses. Results revealed sustained growth in wildfire–soil research, with a clear transition from early emphasis on erosion, nutrient loss, and disturbance effects toward pyrogenic carbon dynamics, microbial ecology, hydrological processes, and ecosystem resilience. The synthesis demonstrated that wildfire-induced soil responses arise from interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes operating across spatial and temporal scales. Fire-induced hydrophobicity, aggregate degradation, vegetation loss, and thermal transformation of soil organic matter collectively regulate infiltration, erosion, carbon dynamics, nutrient cycling, and microbial succession. This synthesis identifies key research priorities for understanding post-fire soil responses under evolving fire regimes.
Post-fire forest regeneration in semi-arid Mediterranean regions is increasingly threatened by climate change, yet predictive tools for data-limited contexts remain scarce. This study develops and validates a methodological framework for assessing post-fire resilience in Chlef wilaya, northwestern Algeria, using 52 fire events recorded between 2015 and 2024. The differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) was modeled as a function of topographic and climatic variables using regularized regression approaches, with ridge regression selected as optimal based on Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation (LOOCV R2 = 0.198, RMSE = 0.127). Field validation at 18 sites demonstrated strong agreement between satellite-derived and ground-measured regeneration metrics (r = 0.89, RMSE = 0.042). Piecewise regression analysis identified a critical Post-Fire Water Stress Index threshold (ISHF = 6.48 ± 0.31; Davies test, p < 0.001) above which regeneration systematically fails. A composite Forest Vulnerability Index was constructed using Principal Component Analysis-derived weights, explaining 45
Long-term monoculture of Chinese fir plantations leads to soil degradation and declining forest productivity, prompting forest managers to seek alternative tree species for forest regeneration. Oaks (Fagaceae) produce high-quality large-diameter timber and support the long-term stability of their forest ecosystems. However, the response patterns of soil bacterial communities following the conversion from Chinese fir to pure oak plantations remain poorly understood. At Kaihua Forest Farm, we investigated the differences in soil bacterial community composition, diversity, assembly processes, co-occurrence networks, and potential functions among a 20-year-old Chinese fir plantation and four 5-year-old oak plantations. The results showed that converting Chinese fir to oak plantations increased soil available phosphorus and potassium contents and modified soil bacterial community composition and structure, while Acidobacteria remained dominant. The establishment of QG and QF increased the Chao1 and Shannon indices of the bacterial community. Stochastic processes governed assembly, with QF enhancing niche breadth and stochasticity. Co-occurrence networks were consistently dominated by positive correlations, and among the four oak plantations, QF exhibited the highest complexity and stability. FAPROTAX prediction revealed changes in potential functions: fermentation and iron reduction were enriched in QF, nitrogen-fixing functional groups were enriched in QG, and carbon cycling and organic pollutant degradation were enriched in CH. Overall, this study revealed variations in soil bacterial communities among different forest stands and enhanced our understanding of how forest conversion affects soil bacteria. When converting Chinese fir plantations, alternative tree species should be selected based on local site conditions and management objectives.
Chattogram metropolitan city, a significant coastal hub and port city in Bangladesh, is experiencing immense traffic pressure, rapid urban expansion, and increasing environmental stress, which is resulting in increased noise levels beyond acceptable limits of 70 dBA for commercial areas. Yet, effective and locally adapted mitigation strategies remain insufficiently explored in Bangladesh. We aimed to assess the effect of urban street trees on traffic-induced noise attenuation in Chattogram metropolitan city, Bangladesh. Noise data, using a sound level meter, were recorded at three segments (0 m, 50 m, and 100 m) of a road section of 100 m, considering the edge (0 m) and four setback distances of 5 m, 10 m, 20 m, and 30 m from the edge of the six streets with vegetation and without vegetation (control). Data were recorded at each site in the morning (8 am–12 pm) and afternoon (4–7 pm), on 2 weekdays (Sundays and Thursdays) and 2 weekends (Fridays and Saturdays) each month, with a 15-day interval from November 2022 to October 2023. The vegetated street sides were categorized into three groups based on (i) tree density: low, medium, and high; and (ii) two groups based on planting pattern: single line and double line. Noise levels decreased gradually with distance from the street. Compared to control, vegetated streets showed noise reductions of up to 4.64 dBA at the street edge and 10.19 dBA at a 30 m setback. Trees attenuated noise by 1.74–7.75 dBA at the 30 m setback relative to the control, with additional attenuation attributable to vegetation ranging from 2.42 to 10.38
Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) provide critical ecological, economic and socio-cultural benefits, yet their valuation remains fragmented across methods, scales and regions. This study conducts a systematic literature review of FES valuation research published between 2001 and 2025, analyzing 129 peer-reviewed articles (119 empirical studies and 10 review articles) to address three core objectives: (1) analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of these methodologies across regions; (2) evaluate the strengths and limitations of prevailing valuation methods; and (3) identify critical research gaps to guide future investigations. Results reveal a steady expansion of FES valuation over the past 25 years, accompanied by increasing methodological diversification across economic, biophysical and socio-cultural dimensions. Spatially, research is heavily concentrated in Asia and Europe, particularly China, India, Japan, and Italy, while key tropical and boreal regions such as the Congo Basin, Amazon Basin, and Siberia remain underrepresented. Methodologically, although multidimensional valuation has been adopted, genuine integration across economic, biophysical, and socio-cultural dimensions remain limited. In terms of scale and thematic coverage, most studies are conducted at regional scale, with national- and global-scale assessments still scarce. Additionally, important themes such as forest disservices, disaster risk reduction, and biosecurity receive limited attention. Future research would benefit from greater use of emerging tools such as public participation geographic information system (PPGIS), social media analytics, and expanded empirical studies in ecologically important yet data-poor regions. Overall, this review provides a structured foundation for advancing interdisciplinary and more comprehensive FES valuation.
Climate change-induced weather variability, particularly changes in temperature and rainfall patterns, poses significant challenges to agroforestry systems and rural livelihoods in the tropics. Understanding how female-headed households perceive and respond to these changes is important for assessing vulnerability and designing effective adaptation strategies. However, limited empirical evidence exists on climate change perceptions and adaptation among non-timber forest product (NTFP)-dependent female-headed households in South Africa, particularly using gender-sensitive and selection-corrected analytical approaches. This study analyses climate change perceptions and adaptation strategies among 240 randomly selected NTFP-dependent female-headed households in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Guided by a gender-sensitive and intersectional perspective, the study examines how socio-economic, institutional, and livelihood-related factors shape climate perceptions and adaptation responses. A Heckman selection model was employed to account for potential sample selection bias between climate change perception and adaptation decisions. The results show that educational status, household size, NTFP collection experience, access to credit, and exposure to extreme weather events are significantly associated with climate change perceptions. Adaptation responses are significantly influenced by education, household size, NTFP collection experience, market distance, access to credit, non-NTFP income, climate information, and forestry extension services. The findings underscore the importance of context-specific and gender-responsive interventions aimed at strengthening the adaptive capacity and resilience of NTFP-dependent female-headed households in rural South Africa.
Small-scale forest owners frequently implement thinning to enhance stand productivity, improve timber quality, and maintain structural diversity; however, its short-term effects on soil physicochemical and biological properties remain insufficiently understood. This study evaluated the short-term effects of moderate thinning on selected soil physicochemical properties, microbial indicators, and wood decomposition by comparing adjacent thinned and unthinned spruce stands in southern Sweden. Soil moisture, pH, bulk density, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), mineral N forms, cation exchange capacity (CEC), major nutrients, microbial biomass indicators, and wood decomposition were assessed. Two years after thinning, no significant differences were detected in bulk soil physicochemical properties, nutrient pools, or carbon stocks between the stands, suggesting limited short-term effects on soil fertility and carbon storage. In contrast, wood decomposition rates and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) were significantly higher in the thinned stand, indicating an early biological response to thinning despite no significant differences in total microbial, fungal, or bacterial biomass. Pearson correlation analysis further revealed significant associations between MBN and several soil physicochemical properties, highlighting the close linkage between microbial N dynamics and soil conditions. Overall, the findings suggest that moderate thinning had limited short-term effects on bulk soil properties but stimulated wood decay processes and microbial N-immobilization. Given the short monitoring period and the case-study nature of this work, the results should be interpreted with caution, and long-term studies across replicated stands are needed to evaluate the persistence of these responses and their implications for forest soil functioning.
Many forest farmer groups (FFGs) in Indonesia experience stagnation after obtaining social forestry permits, largely due to the absence of an operationalized social forestry business framework at the site level. Using a pragmatic research paradigm through a complex mixed-method Participatory Action Research approach, this study aims to develop a social forestry business framework capable of simultaneously addressing key challenges faced by FFGs, including: (1) improving farm household income through more efficient marketing schemes; (2) strengthening institutional capacity within FFGs; and (3) ensuring compliance with Non-Tax State Revenue (NTSR) obligations. This research was conducted in Wono Makmur Forest Farmer Group (Wono Makmur FFG), Boyolali Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, which obtained a Social Forestry Forest Management Permit under the Community Forestry scheme in 2017. This scheme provides full management access to each KTH member to manage their individual plots using an agroforestry system. In contrast, other social forestry schemes such as Community Plantation Forests (HTR) and Village Forests (HD) centralize planting decisions under permit holders, resembling smaller-scale industrial plantation systems (HTI). Based on 2023 government data, this group is the oldest FFG in Boyolali and has the lowest productivity among its peers. Conducted from early 2023 to early 2026, this study develops a framework that enables members to diagnose challenges, apply participatory solutions, and improve marketing while meeting NTSR obligations. However, building genuine participatory consensus requires time to accommodate diverse stakeholder interests.
In Indonesia, social forestry is promoted as a rural development strategy intended to improve community welfare while supporting sustainable forest management. By granting long-term and inheritable rights to manage state forests, the program is expected to provide a solid foundation for sustainable livelihoods across generations. Yet, how current social forestry participants and prospective successors perceive the future livelihood prospects offered by the program and its roles in sustaining long-term engagement remains understudied. This study examines intergenerational perceptions of whether social forestry can function as a sustainable livelihood pathway and sustain participation in the future. The research combines a household survey of 419 current and prospective participants from multiple farmer groups across production and protection forests with in-depth interviews involving key stakeholders. Quantitative analysis using Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) identifies the main factors explaining differences between generations, while qualitative evidence helps interpret the underlying motivations. The results reveal a marked intergenerational difference in perceptions. Many current participants regard social forestry as an important source of livelihood and are willing to invest time and efforts intensively in managing their plots. In contrast, many potential successors view it primarily as a supplementary livelihood option at best and express limited interest in future participation. Limited economic viability, uncertain returns, and technical knowledge gaps are central in shaping these views. These findings suggest changing patterns of people–forest relations and raise questions about the long-term continuity of social forestry in the studied contexts. They also suggest that incentives, support systems, and opportunities for youth engagement may become increasingly important for sustaining participation across generations.
Small-scale plant nurseries make significant contributions to both environmental services and the state economy by generating revenue through the sale of plants, which creates jobs and supports local businesses. The current study was conducted in the Malakand regions plant nurseries to assess their socio-economic performance, production efficiency, and market dynamics to identify limitations and opportunities for sustainable development. Field surveys were carried out, and both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through questionnaires. Gross Margin, Total Revenue, Variable Cost, Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis, and Analysis of Variance were used to assess the technical efficiency and profitability of the nurseries. A total of 410 plants were documented, and the most available types of plants in all nurseries were ornamental. The efficiency score was higher at 8.375 for nine plant species and lower at 0.01 for five plant species, indicating high and low market demands and accessibilities respectively. Production costs (p = 0.04161), Sigma. Square (σ2) and the intercept (p < 0.001) show a high degree of significance across nurseries. The findings of the current study showed that plant nurseries create employment and reduce poverty, thereby supporting SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 1 (No Poverty). The main factors limiting the development of nurseries in the research area were a lack of funding and water availability. The government and other organizations like NGOs should provide financial support, along with training, better market access and water accessibility to facilitate plant nurseries for maximum productivity and efficiency.
Wildfires in forest ecosystems are increasingly influenced by Anthropocene drivers, including climate change, land-use change, and altered disturbance regimes. This review synthesizes forest wildfire dynamics by integrating fire behaviour mechanisms, environmental drivers, ecological impacts, and simulation systems within a forest-centric framework. Fire behaviour is governed by interactions among fuel structure, topography, meteorology, and human activities, with canopy structure, ladder fuels, and biomass accumulation playing key roles. Wildfire impacts are examined in terms of forest structure, species composition, post-fire succession, and ecosystem resilience, including transitions from forest to non-forest states under repeated high-severity fires. Hydrological, socio-economic, and wildland–urban interface impacts are also considered within forested landscapes. The review evaluates simulation tools such as Rothermel’s model, FARSITE, FLAMMAP, WRF-Fire, and AI-based approaches for forest management and risk mitigation. The study highlights the need for adaptive forest management strategies, including fuel load reduction, prescribed burning, and silvicultural interventions, to enhance forest resilience. Overall, this review provides an integrated and forest-focused perspective on wildfire dynamics in the Anthropocene, highlighting the need for adaptive management and advanced simulation tools to sustain forest ecosystem resilience under changing fire regimes.
Homestead forests play a vital role in sustaining rural livelihoods, enhancing food security, and conserving on-farm biodiversity in Bangladesh. However, very few research has examined how variation in homestead forest coverage influences floral species diversity, management practices, and ecological resilience within intensively cultivated floodplain agroecosystems. This study assesses floral species diversity, utilization patterns, ecosystem service perceptions, management practices, gendered participation, and socio-economic and environmental constraints across low, moderate, and high homestead forest coverage categories in Jashore district, Bangladesh. Data were collected from 110 households through stratified random sampling using semi-structured questionnaires and field surveys. Data were analyzed using ecological diversity indices, descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, SWOT analysis, and the Eisenhower Matrix. A total of 80 tree species (968 individuals) were recorded, with a moderately high Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H=3.52). Low-coverage homestead forests exhibited the highest diversity (H=3.73), species richness (R = 10.52) and evenness (E = 0.93), whereas moderate- and high-coverage homestead forests showed comparatively lower diversity values (H = 3.22 and 3.30, respectively) and greater dominance of economically preferred fruit tree species. Plantation decisions were primarily driven by household consumption and fruit production. Management practices remained largely traditional and gendered, while major constraints included pest infestation, animal damage, storm impacts, and limited access to quality planting materials. SWOT analysis and the Eisenhower Matrix identified pest management, improved seedling access, and species diversification as key management priorities. These findings provide important insights into the socio-ecological dynamics of homestead forestry and support biodiversity conservation and climate-resilient agroforestry management in Bangladesh.
Over the past decade, the concept of forest bathing—originating in Japan in the early 1980s—has spread worldwide both as a wellbeing practice and as a topic of scientific interest. Many studies have examinate its physiological and psychological benefits, while the socio-economic dimension remains comparatively underexplored. This study investigates the stakeholders’ perceptions of key characteristics of forest bathing—including psycho-physical health effects, site and forest characteristics, and socio-economic impacts—through a comparative analysis between Italy and Türkiye. In each country, the stakeholders from two regions characterized by a different development stage of forest bathing activities were involved (Trentino-Alto Adige and Tuscany regions in Italy, Marmara and Black Sea regions in Türkiye). The data collected were processed using Q-methodology. Results showed that, although stakeholders in both countries recognize the psycho-physical benefits of forest bathing and share preferences for certain forest features, notable differences emerge in their acceptance of the practice and in their perceptions of its medical relevance. Italian stakeholders tend to view forest bathing as culturally integrated and medically meaningful, whereas Turkish stakeholders adopt a more cautious and skeptical stance. Q-methodology approach proved effective in capturing these nuanced and evolving perspectives, offering valuable insights into how forest bathing is interpreted across socio-cultural contexts and highlighting the conditions that support its recognition as an added‑value practice.
The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) was developed in part to understand why private landowners—individuals, families, corporations, and other organizations – own forest land and what benefits and value that land provides. From the NWOS, we know that family forests provide many elements that forestry experts have traditionally emphasized—products such as wood and non-timber forest products and services such as recreation. However, the NWOS has also highlighted that these are not the primary ownership objectives for many family forest owners (FFOs), with other objectives such as privacy, aesthetics, and protection of nature being more important to the majority. The Total Economic Value (TEV) framework provides a theoretically complete typology of human value and is therefore a potentially useful means of fully accounting for the total value that landowners derive from their land. Many traditional products and services associated with private forests are classified in the TEV as direct use value; these include things such as timber and other wood products, and outdoor recreation. In general, these are already adequately covered by the NWOS and other studies, but TEV also includes indirect use, non-use, and option value. These are generally not as well represented in the NWOS instrument or the empirical FFO literature. To address this knowledge gap, an NWOS survey supplement focused on TEV was developed and implemented in Arkansas and Massachusetts, USA. This paper summarizes quantitative and qualitative findings, highlighting that family forests provide landowners with multiple sources of use value, non-use value, and option value.
Collaborative Forest Management (CFM) is widely promoted as a mechanism for aligning forest conservation with local livelihood benefits, yet empirical evidence on its gendered participation, livelihood effects, and conflict outcomes remains limited. This study applied a social-ecological systems framework to examine gender roles, participation drivers, constraints, livelihood outcomes, and conflict management in CFM within the Sunyani Forest District, Ghana. Data were collected from 198 randomly selected participants across five forest-fringe communities using structured surveys, supported by focus group discussions and inferential statistics. Gender-disaggregated analysis revealed strong role differentiation: 93
The Portuguese government created the forest intervention zones (ZIFs) in 2005 with the main objective of improving forest management and protection, reducing the risk of forest fires and promoting group management practices, while also increasing the productivity, profitability, and resilience of forests. To do so, the policy created instruments to promote the voluntary association of smallholders, who would then jointly agree on a joint forest management plan. By 2022, 267 ZIFs had been established, covering more than 1.9 million hectares. This research aims to: (i) Estimate the impact of ZIF policy on land use and forest fire; (ii) Assess the impact of the policy on owners’ property rights; and (iii) Assess the forest managers’ perception of the policy implementation. The first objective was reached by assessing land use dynamics and fire incidence within ZIFs, between 2005 and 2015, and comparing them with national trends for forest areas outside ZIFs. The comparison between the property rights of ZIF adherents and non-adherents was calculated using the property rights index in forestry (PRIF), to assess the policy impact on the freedom of choice of forest owners. Finally, interviews were conducted with the association's forest managers to analyse their perceptions of the policy’s implementation. The results show that the ZIF policy instrument restricted property rights of forest owners, while having an overall negligible impact on wildfires incidence, mostly due to the lack of financial support by the state, alongside very broad forest management plans that were mostly made to comply with the policy requirements.
To ensure a more sustainable shea sector and the development of improved shea (Vitelleria paradoxa) varieties, there is a need to understand and assess farmers’ traits and practices. This study assesses farmers’ knowledge of the morphological features of the shea tree for selection purposes. It identifies the constraints and determinants of shea tree preservation using survey data from 250 farmers in northern Ghana. The study results show that farmers identify shea trees by fruit traits, fruiting period, leaves, and nuts. Farmers differ significantly in their assessment of shea butter colour. Shea butter, food, medicine, fuel, and breast milk inducement are the shea tree’s main benefits to farmers. The major constraints of farmers in shea production and processing include lack of transportation services, finance, and lack of processing equipment and protective clothing. Several preservation strategies employed by the farmers include nurturing young seedlings, creating fire belts, pruning, and preventing tree cutting. The study found that shea tree preservation is statistically and significantly influenced by age, education, marital status, loss of shea trees, participation in shea tree conservation programmes in the community, and location of farmers. Based on the study’s findings, there is a need for development organizations to create more awareness among shea farmers regarding shea production management and preservation practices to build a solid base for germplasm selection and improvement.
Social forestry has been promoted as a policy innovation aimed at improving the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. However, the formal allocation of social forestry rights does not automatically translate into access to sustainable and decent livelihoods. Drawing on the Theory of Access and the Full Range Leadership model, this study examines how leadership styles within social forestry groups shape both access to and exclusion from livelihood opportunities within social forestry groups. This study adopts a multiple-case study approach involving three social forestry groups, representing beginner, intermediate, and advanced group categories. The selected cases share relatively similar biophysical conditions and forest utilization regimes, policy histories, and organizational trajectories, enabling closer comparison of how leadership dynamics shape divergent livelihood outcomes. Data were collected through two rounds of in-depth interviews, involving 32 key informants from internal group actors and external stakeholders, and analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis and triangulation. The overall findings reveal broadly distinct access and exclusion outcomes associated with different leadership styles. Groups led by transformational leaders exhibit higher adaptive capacity and openness to innovation, enabling broader access to higher-value livelihood opportunities such as ecotourism. In contrast, passive transactional leadership tended to maintain procedural access to social forestry programs while constraining innovation, trust, and participation, resulting in limited livelihood diversification. Meanwhile, laissez-faire leadership was associated with weak coordination, organizational stagnation, and increasingly symbolic tenure rights, where formal access existed but meaningful livelihood benefits remained minimal. The findings further indicate that external facilitation can either strengthen or constrain community access depending on whether it reinforces internal agency and collective learning or instead encourages dependency and centralized control. Overall, this study demonstrates that the effectiveness of social forestry depends not only on tenure recognition, but also on leadership dynamics and internal governance processes that shape access to forest-based livelihoods.
Forest fire risk has become a growing concern worldwide, yet fine-scale spatial risk assessments at the township level remain insufficient for many fire-prone regions. This study aimed to characterize spatial risks of forest fires in Huichuan District, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, China. We selected 16 standardized forest fire risk indicators from the Secondary Platform of the National Forest and Grassland Fire Risk Census. We assessed forest fire risk via field surveys of wildland combustible materials, multi-source data sharing, mathematical statistics, and literature analysis. The results showed that among the 21,210 forest sub-compartments for forest fire risk assessment in Huichuan District, 9,263 (43.67
Pinus gerardiana Wall. ex D. Don (chilgoza pine) holds profound cultural, ecological and economic value for the tribal communities of Kinnaur and Pangi in the western Himalayas. However, the species is undergoing rapid decline, posing serious threats to both biodiversity and traditional livelihoods. This study examines the socioeconomic conditions of chilgoza nut collectors across five forest ranges in Himachal Pradesh—Kalpa, Kilba, Moorang, Pooh (Kinnaur) and Pangi (Chamba), encompassing its entire natural distribution in the state. Primary data from 60 households representing the marginal, small, and medium farm categories were analysed to identify the drivers of decline. Results indicate that the traditional community-based system of chilgoza collection is eroding, primarily due to the growing dominance of commercial apple cultivation, which accounts for over 69.57 per-cent of farm income. Unsustainable harvesting practices, particularly branch lopping, are degrading trees and hindering natural regeneration. Climate change, reflected in declining winter snowfall, has further reduced cone production. On average, households own 1.43 ha of land, with 68.53 per-cent under cultivation, of which 50.35 per-cent is apple orchards. Although chilgoza contributes 3.03 per-cent to the household income, it remains vital for livelihood diversification. Marketing is dominated by wholesalers (Channel III, 62.25
