This Special Issue (SI) aims to investigate the relationships between hydrological and ecological processes and how these interactions can contribute to the optimization of water resources in arid and semi-arid areas. This SI collected 10 original contributions on sustainable land management and the optimization of water resources in fragile environments that are at elevated risk due to climate change. The topics mainly concern transpiration, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, deep percolation, and related issues. The collection of manuscripts presented in this SI represents a contribution of knowledge in ecohydrology.

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Natural pine forests characterize many landscapes preserved over time, either as a result of a specific forest management practice or a disturbance. In the event of a lack of management over a long period of time, these formations could evolve with increasingly chaotic structures towards other formations. This process can lead to landscape change, the spread of insects and pathogens, and the risk of fires and watercourse obstruction. Pine forest plantations should be considered as transient tree populations, destined to evolve into more complex and stable formations. However, sometimes they should be preserved for their cultural value. Careful management of these forests also takes into account the close relationship between forest and human settlements. As a first step, ecological management assumes the definition of these two macro types. These approaches include the application of integrated methods for determining the reference conditions of the main functional and structural ecosystem components of forests. The reference conditions are the historical (or natural) variability range of ecological structures and processes, reflecting the recent evolution and dynamic interaction of biotic and abiotic conditions and patterns of disturbance. These conditions form the basis for comparison with contemporary ecosystem processes and structures and are a frame of reference for designing ecological restoration treatments and conservation plans. The productive aspects must not be overlooked; rather, they have to be considered, planned, and managed with a perspective of sustainability and ecosystem functionality. This should be considered for a common approach to forest management, for a forest rehabilitation, and for forest restoration activities.

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In the current context of global change and global interconnectedness, our role in connecting the dots and finding solutions to current and future problems is very important. When talking specifically about the management of forests, we can see its continuous evolution and, more importantly, its adaptation to contemporary challenges. As is well known, forest ecosystems play an essential role in our economy, human wellbeing and global wellbeing. More specifically, one of the main challenges in forest management is represented by the sustainability of resources and need to conserve biological diversity. The best way is to think globally, to find patterns that repeat themselves and to investigate solutions that can help us to prepare a better future. In this regard, we think that it is essential to review papers that present interesting findings that could guide us. The first step was to select 18 articles from a wide range of countries located on three continents, including Brazil, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Germany, Malaysia, Peru, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Our main goal was to analyse the regionally specific aspects, as well as general aspects that can be applied worldwide. Using this approach, we narrowed our research to eight sub-domains: natural and human disturbances, genetics, site conditions, tropical forest, peri-urban forest, forest soils, forest reserves, and mountain ecosystems. These articles tackle themes such as peri-urban forests and their impact on urban agglomerations, ecoturism, cultural heritages and practices from local communities, human interventions and best practices.

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This book highlights the role of research in innovation and sustainability in the forest sector. The contributions included fall within the broad thematic areas of forest science and cover crucial topics such as biocontrol, forest fire risk, harvesting and logging practices, quantitative and qualitative assessments of forest products, urban forests, and wood treatments—topics that have also been addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective. The contributions also have practical applications, as they deal with the ecological and economic importance of forests and new technologies for the conservation, monitoring, and improvement of services and forest value.

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Hardwood-dominated temperate forests (mostly in Eastern North America, Europe, North East Asia) provide valuable renewable timber and numerous ecosystem services. Many of these forests have been subjected to harvesting or conversion to agriculture, sometimes over centuries, that have greatly reduced their former extent and diversity. Natural regeneration following harvesting or during post-agricultural succession has often failed to restore these forests adequately. Past harvesting practices and the valuable timber of some species have led to a reduction in their abundance. The loss of apex predators has caused herbivore populations to increase and exert intense browsing pressure on hardwood regeneration, often preventing it. Particularly important are fruit, nut and acorn bearing species, because of their vital role in forest food webs and biodiversity. Restoring hardwood species to natural forests in which they were formerly more abundant will require a number of forest management actions (e.g., resistant hybrids, deer exclosures/protectors, enrichment planting, underplanting, etc.). Similarly, reforesting areas that were once natural forests will also require new silvicultural knowledge. Global warming trends will intensify the need for interventions to maintain the diversity and function of temperate hardwood forests, as well as for increase hardwood reforestation.

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Soil degradation is one of the most topical environmental threats. A number of processes causing soil degradation, specifically erosion, compaction, salinization, pollution, and loss of both organic matter and soil biodiversity, are also strictly connected to agricultural activity and its intensification. The development and adoption of sustainable agronomic practices able to preserve and enhance the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils and improve agroecosystem functions is a challenge for both scientists and farmers. The Special Issue entitled “Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation” collects 12 original contributions addressing the state of the art of sustainable agriculture and soil conservation. The papers cover a wide range of topics, including organic agriculture, soil amendment and soil organic carbon (SOC) management, the impact of SOC on soil water repellency, the effects of soil tillage on the quantity of SOC associated with several fractions of soil particles and depth, and SOC prediction, using visible and near-infrared spectra and multivariate modeling. Moreover, the effects of some soil contaminants (e.g., crude oil, tungsten, copper, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are discussed or reviewed in light of the recent literature. The collection of the manuscripts presented in this Special Issue provides a relevant knowledge contribution for improving our understanding on sustainable agriculture and soil conservation, thus stimulating new views on this main topic.

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