Sustainable Forest Biomass Management for Soil Carbon and Circular Bioeconomy

Forests are central to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, soil protection, and the achievement of multiple ecosystem service demands. Managed forest landscapes provide biomass resources that can support rural livelihoods, renewable value chains, and the transition toward circular forest bioeconomies. However, the increasing demand for forest biomass must be balanced with the long-term maintenance of forest productivity, soil fertility, regeneration capacity, biodiversity, and carbon stocks.This Research Topic focuses on the sustainable supply, management, and use of forest biomass in the context of global change. The collection will examine how woody biomass and forest residues, and biomass derived from agroforestry or forest-adjacent systems can be managed in ways that reduce land degradation, maintain or enhance soil health, support forest regeneration, and enhance carbon storage both within forest ecosystems and in long-lived harvested wood products, including substitution benefits. Attention will be given to the consequences of biomass harvesting intensity, residue removal, fire-risk reduction, restoration practices, and post-harvest management on forest soils, nutrient cycling, microbial activity, hydrological functions, and long-term ecosystem resilience.The topic also welcomes research on biochar when framed as a forest management and climate mitigation strategy, including its use as a soil amendment, its role in carbon sequestration, its effects on degraded or fire-affected forest soils, and its potential to improve restoration outcomes. Contributions addressing carbon accounting, life-cycle perspectives of biomass use, cascading utilization, governance frameworks, community forestry, policy incentives, carbon markets, and the socio-economic dimensions of circular forest bioeconomies are especially encouraged.The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together interdisciplinary evidence on how forest biomass can be supplied and used without compromising forest ecosystem integrity. We invite Original Research, Reviews, Perspectives, Policy and Practice Reviews, Policy Briefs, Brief Research Reports, and Case Studies that link forest management with soil conservation, regeneration, carbon storage, climate resilience, and sustainable forest-based livelihoods.This Research Topic invites contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Sustainable forest biomass supply and harvesting systems;- Impacts of residue removal and biomass utilization on forest soils and nutrient cycling;- Forest regeneration, productivity, and long-term ecosystem resilience under biomass extraction;- Biochar as a soil amendment and carbon sequestration strategy in forest systems;- Forest carbon storage, accounting, and climate change mitigation; Silvicultural and operational adjustments required to support cascading biomass use within circular forest bioeconomies;- Forest restoration, degraded lands, and soil recovery linked to biomass management;- Agroforestry and forest-adjacent biomass systems when connected to forest management objectives;- Socio-economic, policy, and governance dimensions of forest biomass use;- How carbon markets, local incentives, and community forestry goals shape forest management planning and harvesting decisions;- Life-cycle and sustainability assessments of biomass extraction from a forest-system management perspective;- Contribution of sustainable forest biomass management to SDG 15 and climate-resilient forest landscapes. Topic editors: Salomon Ramiro Vasquez-Garcia, Nelly Flores Ramírez, LEANDRO GARCIA GONZALEZ, Cristina Chinchilla-Soto Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82766/sustainable-forest-biomass-management-for-soil-carbon-and-circular-bioeconomy