Compacted soils in urban areas suffer from reduced porosity, impairing plant growth, water infiltration, and gas exchange, thus exacerbating other potential environmental issues. Amending soil with organic matter can reduce bulk density and increase permeability, thereby enhancing soil fertility and functionality. This study evaluated the effects of two organic soil amendments (i.e., chipped cork and municipal waste compost) on soil functionality and the physiology of Quercus ilex trees, following a soil compaction treatment. Five soil treatments were compared: control (no compaction and amendments), soil compaction without amendments, and compaction with amendments including cork, compost, or a combination of both. Soil and plant physiological responses were analyzed during the summer months, focusing on soil gas exchange, temperature, moisture, microbial respiration, enzymatic activity, leaf gas exchange, leaf chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content, and maximum daily trunk shrinkage. The results showed that amended soils exhibited increased soil gas exchanges, lower temperatures, and higher microbial activity than non-amended compacted soils, thereby reducing the detrimental effects of soil compaction on plant physiology. These findings suggested that incorporating organic amendments into urban soils, especially those subjected to frequent trampling, could make them more resistant/resilient to compaction, supporting healthier green spaces and more sustainable urban ecosystems.

Purpose of review: Container type, volume, depth, and cultivation density represent key and economically relevant decisions for forest nurseries, as they directly shape seedling traits and outplanting performance. Despite numerous studies, existing knowledge remains fragmented and context-specific, limiting the development of general, evidence-based guidelines. This review examines how these container variables influence seedling morphology in the nursery and outplanting survival across taxonomic plant groups, seedling ages, and planting environments. Recent findings: We found that larger container volume and depth increase proportionally more root than shoot growth resulting in reduced shoot-to-root mass ratio (S:R), whereas increasing cultivation density reduces seedling biomass and increases S:R. These patterns are more pronounced in cell containers and in ≤ 1 year-old seedlings. Container depth enhances root development particularly in angiosperms. Larger volume and deeper containers improve outplanting survival, especially in cell containers, in ≤ 1 year-old plants, angiosperms, and in harsher, forest planting sites. Planting site aridity does not modulate the effects of container properties on survival. Interestingly, outplanting survival is influenced by both direct effects of container characteristics and indirect pathways mediated by morphology, which differ between angiosperms and gymnosperms. Summary: Container characteristics are major drivers of seedling morphology in the nursery and early field survival. These findings support prioritizing larger containers and cell containers for ≤ 1 year-old stock to optimize performance under harsh planting sites. Increasing container depth promotes larger seedlings by enhancing root growth in large-seeded, taproot-forming angiosperms, whereas survival in gymnosperms appears to be more influenced by cultivation density. This review provides a quantitative basis for improving container selection and nursery decision-making in forest plantings.

Climate change is intensifying fire regimes, thereby challenging forest ecosystems and making it more difficult to predict the fate of burned trees. The significant ecological impacts of latent tree mortality remain poorly understood. In this study, we reviewed the scientific literature on latent tree mortality in conifer forests following wildfires or prescribed fires. A total of 2294 papers published between 2000 and 2024 were identified from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Using the PICO selection method, we included 16 relevant studies in the final analysis. These studies are based on field assessment, excluding remote sensing and controlled laboratory conditions. Our research revealed that latent mortality results from multiple forms of damage and environmental stressors that disrupt hydraulic function and carbon allocation, increasing tree vulnerability to secondary biotic and abiotic stressors. The discussion is structured around four thematic areas: physiology, ecophysiology, dendrochronology, and silviculture. This approach contributes to a deeper, interdisciplinary understanding of latent tree mortality. However, predicting it remains difficult, reflecting persistent knowledge gaps. Despite the limited literature on this specific field, our review highlights the need for integrated physiological indicators, such as sap flow, transpiration, nonstructural carbohydrates and glucose concentration, as well as long-term monitoring along many growing seasons to better assess tree survival after fire.

Plants must constantly adapt to biotic and abiotic stressors, which the global climate change crisis has intensified. To monitor plant health and predict their ability to face these challenges, various target molecules, such as hormones, glucose, and reactive oxygen species, are used as proxies for their physiological status. This review provides a systematic assessment of the current state of biosensor technology, an innovative analytical approach designed for in situ, minimally invasive, and real-time monitoring. Using the PICO (Problem, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome) strategy, relevant research papers were identified. The review highlights how biosensors can detect physiological responses to stress before visual symptoms manifest, offering a significant advantage over traditional, often destructive, laboratory techniques, like gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC-MS) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These advancements aim to improve precision agriculture and forestry management by providing sustainable methods to assess resilience in changing environments. Finally, the challenges of translating research from model organisms to complex woody species and choosing the correct target are discussed, and future perspectives, including the integration of biosensors with Artificial Intelligence-driven predictive models for large-scale environmental monitoring, are outlined.