Submissions of papers are invited for a forthcoming special issue of the peer-reviewed on-line journal Forests.  This Special Issue will focus on 'Growth and Development of Short Rotation Woody Crops for Rural and Urban Applications'.

Woody biomass from short rotation woody crops (SRWCs), including poplars and willows, plays a substantial role in feedstock production for alternative energy sources throughout the world, thus helping to mitigate climate change driven by excessive use of fossil fuels.  Establishment of these biomass production systems presents the basis for more efficient development of renewable energy sources while avoiding impacts to essential ecosystem services, such as additional emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere.  In addition to these bioenergy-related uses, the increase of degraded land, such as industrial brownfields and municipal landfills, has prompted the integration of biomass production with phytotechnologies to produce income, sequester carbon, and clean the environment.  Recognizing the need for information linking the silviculture of intensive forestry with the provision of ecosystem services, the Special Issue focuses on the silviculture, genetics and physiology of SRWCs grown for all types of application along the rural to urban continuum from phytoremediation to green infrastructure and energy coppice).

Further information about the Special Issue, including instructions for submission, are available on the journal's website at www.mdpi.com/journal/forests/special_issues/growth_development_woody_crops.

Submission deadline is 31 December 2020. 

Those interested in submitting a paper may also send a tentative tile, author names and affiliations and abstract by E-mail to the co-editors of the Special Issue: Dr. Ronald S. Zalesny (ron.zalesny@usda.gov) and Dr. Andrej Pilipovic (andrejp@uns.ac.rs).  If accepted, this preliminary information will be posted on the Special Issue website to encourage other contributions.  However, final publication in the Special Issue will still depend on the journal's normal submission and review process.

Forests is a fully open access (unlimited and free access by readers) journal.  Open access has been shown to increase publicity and promote more frequent citations.  It is supported by authors and their institutes.  Note that an article processing charge of 1800 Swiss francs currently applies to all papers accepted by the journal in 2020.

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