Dothistroma sp., the causal agent of red band needle blight, is a globally distributed pine needle pathogen whose detrimental impact on forests has increased significantly in recent decades. This study provides novel data on the pathogen’s occurrence in southern Western Siberia, where it was identified for the first time on both native and introduced five-needle pines (Pinus sibirica, P. koraiensis, and P. pumila). During spring 2022, this study detected Dothistroma needle blight in a plantation containing grafted clones and seed progeny of these species. All infected trees exhibited typical red band needle blight symptoms, including brick-red needle banding, progressive needle desiccation, and shoot dieback primarily in lower crown regions, with P. pumila displaying crown-wide symptom distribution. Polymerase chain reaction–based methods confirmed the pathogen as Dothistroma sp., but did not allow reliable discrimination between D. septosporum and D. pini. Infection severity varied substantially among species and individuals. Seed progeny uniformly displayed mild symptoms, whereas clonal specimens showed species-specific patterns: P. pumila clones exhibited 75% infection prevalence with predominantly minor crown damage, P. sibirica clones demonstrated over 50% infection with the widest severity range from asymptomatic to lethal cases, and all P. koraiensis specimens presented exclusively mild symptoms. Further studies are required to assess the potential impacts of Dothistroma sp. dispersal on forestry practices and ecosystem dynamics within the native ranges of these pine species. Cite this article as: Zhuk, E., Senashova, V., & Surina, T. (2026). Dothistroma needle blight in the south of Western Siberia: First detection and variation in host susceptibility. Forestist, 76, 0073, doi: 10.5152/ forestist.2026.25073.
Social forestry is a government strategy aimed at improving community welfare while promoting forest conservation, making it essential to assess its effectiveness in maintaining land cover and carbon absorption capacity. This study evaluates land cover changes and carbon sequestration in the context of social forestry in North Luwu and East Luwu Regencies, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. These regions contain the largest forest areas in the province, making them crucial for addressing deforestation, forest degradation, and climate change mitigation. Geospatial and modeling analysis were employed to assess land cover dynamics and estimate carbon sequestration in social forestry permit areas. The results indicate an increase in forest area of approximately 3000 hectares, contributing to potential carbon sequestration of around three million tons of carbon dioxide over five years, particularly in the Angkona Forest Management Unit. However, other forest management units, such as Rongkong, Baliase, and Kalaena, experienced a decline in forest area due to agricultural expansion, leading to increased carbon emissions. These findings provide a scientific basis for policy recommendations to support sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation efforts in Indonesia. Cite this article as: Rijal, S., Chairil, A., Mukrimin., Samsuri., Nursaputra, M., Syamsul, K. A., Dwiputra, W. S., Pambudi, A. I., A., Pratama, A., & Elistyawati, A., Putri, A. L. A. (2026). Assessing social forestry in Indonesia: A spatio-temporal analysis of land cover change and carbon sequestration in South Sulawesi. Forestist, 76, 0007, doi: 10.5152/forestist.2026.25007.
Bamboo weaving, as a unique form of natural resource utilization and cultural exploration, is intricately linked to the livelihoods of millions worldwide. Qingshen bamboo weaving, recognized as national intangible cultural heritage in China, is the sole bamboo weaving–themed base among the latest batch of 99 national productive protection demonstration bases. This study employs a hybrid SWOT–AHP framework to empirically analyze the sustainable development pathway of the Qingshen Bamboo Weaving Base, identifying 18 key factors and calculating their relative importance through hierarchical judgment matrices. The findings reveal three primary conclusions. First, the base exhibits a predominant Strength-Opportunity (SO) strategic orientation: internal strengths (S' = 1.0012) and external opportunities (O' = 0.9530) substantially outweigh weaknesses (W' = −0.4859) and threats (T' = −0.5112), with strategic centroid P.(0.1288, 0.1105) situated in the first quadrant ((oid P(0.1288, 0.1105)) favorable window for growth-oriented strategy. Second, critical success factors exhibit significant divergence: national policy support (O1) and strategic educational partnerships (O3) emerge as paramount external drivers, while local employment enhancement and rural revitalization (S3) constitute the most significant internal strength; conversely, inadequate product design capabilities (W4) and intensified market competition (T2) represent pressing constraints, revealing a systemic deficiency in translating cultural heritage into market competitiveness. Third, sustainable development necessitates a multidimensional integrated approach—a strategic transition from a resource-dependent model toward a design-driven, brand-oriented industrial ecosystem that synergizes policy support, design innovation, digital empowerment, and community engagement. This study provides valuable insights for preserving and sustainably developing intangible cultural heritage, offering a replicable analytical framework for similar cultural heritage bases worldwide. Cite this article as: Su, L., Jiang, Y., Wang, Q., Zhu, L., Zhao, C., Xia, E., & Li, G. (2026). Sustainable development strategies for national intangible cultural heritage bases: A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats–analytical hierarchy process approach to the Qingshen bamboo weaving base. Forestist, 76, 0164, doi: 10.5152/forestist.2026.25164.
The multifunctional role of forests includes estimating wood volume and biomass, which provide significant information for sustainable forest management. Nevertheless, because tree stems are irregular in shape, accurately estimating tree volume and biomass is difficult and requires determining the taper of the tree bole. This need has led to extensive research on factors that quantify tree stem irregularities. The goal of this study is to construct reliable models to estimate the stem taper of standing fir trees in the University forest at Pertouli, Trikala, Greece, using the form-height factor. Specifically, the generalized regression neural network and the resilient propagation artificial neural network were used for their effectiveness in identifying and learning complex patterns in the ground-truth data. These models were selected as alternatives to standard nonlinear regression to compare their accuracy, spanning from a traditional nonlinear regression method to more flexible artificial intelligence approaches. Overall, the resilient propagation artificial neural network model performed best, showing the lowest root mean square error (1.7237m), average absolute error (1.407m), and Furnival’s index of fit (1.7237m), indicating higher prediction accuracy and smaller errors. The generalized regression neural network model performed very similarly, with slightly higher root mean square error and average absolute error values, suggesting it is also a strong predictive model. In contrast, the nonlinear regression model had much larger root mean square error and average absolute error values, indicating weaker predictive accuracy. In conclusion, the machine learning methods tested can be recommended as a reliable alternative to support modeling and informed decision-making in forest management for sustainable forest ecosystems. Cite this article as: Diamantopoulou, M. J. (2026). Comparative evaluation of nonlinear regression and neural network models for fir tree form-height factor estimation in support of sustainable forest management. Forestist, 76, 0132, doi: 10.5152/forestist.2026.25132.
Ecotourism presents both opportunities and challenges for the sustainable management of tropical limestone forests, making updated assessments of biodiversity and visitor carrying capacity essential for informed conservation planning. This study assessed the floristic composition and carrying capacity for the sustainability of forest-based ecotourism sites in Lobo, Batangas, specifically the Nalayag Ecotourism Site. A total of 25 quadrats were surveyed to record plant species and diameter at breast height, with diversity indices (Shannon and Simpson’s Evenness), importance values based on dominance, frequency, and density, and species indigeneity, endemicity, and conservation status used to assess the ecological value of the site. A total of 378 individuals from 87 morpho-species, 72 genera, and 34 families were recorded in the study site. The study area can be considered highly important having 56 natives, nine Philippine endemics, and seven locally- and four internationally threatened species. In terms of carrying capacity, the real carrying capacity was calculated as 1324 visitors for the Nalayag Trail, 14 visitors for Nalayag Rocks, and 167 visitors for the Monolith. While visitation remains within acceptable limits in most areas, visitor numbers at Nalayag Rocks exceed its real carrying capacity during peak months, indicating a high risk of habitat degradation. These results add to the empirical evidence on the floral diversity of tropical limestone forests in the Philippines as well as quantitative baseline for its sustainable ecotourism management. With these findings, an ecotourism management plan enforcing visitor caps at Nalayag Rocks, regulating access schedules, and applying ecotourism zoning and biodiversity monitoring to protect conservation-priority species while sustaining productivity must be in place. Cite this article as: Abenir, E. B., Perez, A. P., Jr., H. G. B., Briones, R. U., Panganiban, M. G., Coracero, E. E., Magnaye, L. M., & Magnaye, C. J. O. (2026). Floristic composition and visitor carrying capacity of the Nalayag Ecotourism Site, Batangas, Philippines: A baseline for sustainable management of a tropical limestone forest. Forestist, 76, 0049, doi: 10.5152/forestist.2026.25049.
