Monitoring of Urban Landscape Ecology Dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, Over Four Decades (1976–2016)
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a well-prepared article, but there is some doubt in the details. The summary is to be rewritten, it does not discuss the results compared to other studies. I attach an appendix with comments and tips for improving the article. After these necessary improvements it has a chance to bring new knowledge about urbanization processes and be cited.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
We have addressed your comments and point-by-point response given in the attached file
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear authors,
A brief summary
The paper („Monitoring of urban landscape ecology dynamics of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan, over four decades (1976-2016)”) analyses the landscape dynamics in capital from South-West Asia, Pakistan over a long period.
The paper is well written but there are need some improvements, especially in the Introduction and Discussion Sections.
Broad comments
- The paper deals with an interesting topic for the readers even these topics were upon request and used.
- The study was designed and technically sound in a good manner.
- The methods, tools, and software used are described good but there is a need for some improvements to specify the software used in the analysis.
- Even you made a section related to objectives (1.2. Study objectives), these are missing from the Abstract.
5. In the discussion, you must have a critical analysis between the papers that discuss the landscape ecology dynamics from a city and the results you have reached.
The paper corrections and suggestions are in the PDF document.
Best wishes and a lot of health in Covid-19 pandemic!
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
We have addressed your comments and point-by-point response given in the attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
The authors review 40 years of remote sensing data for the area surrounding the Islamabad Capital Territory of Pakistan, and applied criteria from the Sustainability Development Goals evaluate the degree to which land use in this urban area meet the intended development standards. They report rapid urban development and population growth in this relatively newly developed capital city. The paper is well-referenced, illustrated and supported by statistical data. Nevertheless, the authors do not consistently use the numerical referencing style of the journal. On line 133, the reference is to [49]; on line 139 to [50], on lines 164/165 and 192 to [55]; on lines 168 and 192 to [49]; and line 164 to [64], for example: similarly, line 464 [87] and line 465 [83]. Naeem et al (2018c) on lines 192/193 does not seem to have been included in the reference list. Regarding Figure 4, the labels for the x-axis are too small to be read. The use of upper case letters in place names should be made consistent. For example on line 178, Margalla Hills uses a lower case "h" while on line 182 there is an upper case "H"--upper case should be used for place names. Along with these concerns, the authors should thoroughly review the manuscript to ensure consistent use of tense (present versus past) and agreement between subject and verb (number--e.g., data were or are...). The use of articles (a, an and the) should also be reviewed. That said, the manuscript is generally well-written and is recommended for publication with minor changes.
Author Response
We have addressed your comments and point-by-point response given in the attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.
