Announcements

MDPI is proud to adopt the principles of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) to support building equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications.

The C4DISC represents organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications and is focused on addressing issues of diversity and inclusion within the publishing industry.

MDPI’s Managing Editors encourage the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to appoint diverse expert Editorial Boards. This is also reflective in our multi-national and inclusive workplace. We are proud to create equal opportunities without regard to gender, ethnicity, geographic location, sexual orientation, age, disability, political beliefs, religion, or socio-economic status. There is no place for discrimination in our workplace and editors of MDPI journals are to uphold these principles in high regard.

Representatives from C4DISC meet monthly, and have started to implement initiatives to shed light and improve on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications. Some of the initiatives include developing a joint statement of principles; conducting market research; providing training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation for our collective memberships; and establishing outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications.

The Coalition is committed to:

• eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
• creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
• promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
• raising awareness about career opportunities in our industries to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
• supporting our members in achieving diversity and inclusion within their organizations.

At MDPI we have slightly revised the layout for articles to be published in the 2021 Volume, starting at the end of December 2020. As of today, the article templates available for download on ‘Instructions for Authors’ pages have been updated.

The most noticeable change can be found on the first page of the article, where a left-hand column has been created to include the following front matter elements: (i) the recommended citation style for the article, (ii) the publishing history, (iii) as well as the Creative Commons Attribution license used (iv) a standard note regarding affiliations. At the same time, the extra spacing on the left means the authors’ affiliations are now more clearly set apart than before. Other front matter key elements such as journal logo, article type, article title, authors, abstract and keywords remain unchanged.

The blank column on the left runs through all pages in an article; as a result, the main text is slightly more condensed, which improve reader friendliness for smaller screens. Small figures/tables are aligned on the left with standard indenture, while large figures/tables are centered and covering the full width of the page. The revised layout was applied in the article pictured below, to serve as an example:

1) Information is displayed in the left information bar.

2) In the main text, there is a blank column on the left.

3) Small tables/figures are aligned on the left, large tables/figures are centered.

We are pleased to acknowledge that many academic editors who have made an impact on MDPI journals as editorial board members, editors-in-chief, or section editors, are recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate.

Highly Cited Researchers highlights the top 1% of researchers, by citations, in one or more of the 22 fields used in Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators. We offer our congratulations to 279 academic editors of MDPI journals who were recognized as the most influential scholars in their fields in 2020.

The full list of 2020 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed on https://recognition.webofsciencegroup.com/awards/highly-cited/2020/

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Applications to join the Topics Editorial Board of Conservation are now open.

We are now accepting applications for the Topics Editorial Board of Conservation, an international peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary, scholarly, electronic open-access journal. It provides a premium forum for both empirical and theoretical research that has significant implications for conservation in both natural and social sciences, and to explore the multiple links between human society and nature, especially (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Biodiversity and environment conservation;
• Resource recycling, conservation, and sustainable management;
• Conservation planning and governance;
• Conservation ethics and ecology;
• Creative and multidisciplinary solutions for conservation and restoration;
• Heritage conservation and restoration.

We welcome all distinguished scholars—across all fields—who contribute to the advancement of conservation practices and the science behind them. We are devoted to providing a global forum for practitioners and scholars to disseminate their research to all intended audiences and further contribute to the biological, sociological, ethical, economic, and other transdisciplinary dimensions of conservation.

As a Topics Editorial Board Member, you would be responsible for

1. Providing guidance for Conservation’s topic selection and collection, especially in the initial phase as well as in the long term;
2. Promoting relevant Topical Collections, Special Issues, or the journal Conservation within networks on social media, personal websites, relevant networks, and any attended conferences when it is possible;

Our current topical collections include but are not limited to the following:

1. Interdisciplinary frontiers of conservation:

• Frontiers in urban ecological design and conservation planning;
• Multidisciplinary solutions for conservation and restoration: linking theory to conservation practice;
• Social-ecological conservation: community conservation from concept to practice;
• Integrated perspectives on conservation planning and governance;
• Looking beyond the scene: exploring community-based conservation resolutions;
• Hydrological ecology and stream diversity: lens of conservation;
• Climate change adaptation for global conservation;
• Planning conservation areas, optimal site selection;
• Digital processes in social, cultural, and ecological conservation.

2. Prevalent focuses:

• Coastal and marine ecosystem conservation;
• Heritage conservation and restoration;
• Indigenous knowledge and biodiversity conservation;
• Conservation for plant diversity and agricultural landscape;
• Species, biodiversity, and habitat management;
• Biodiversity conservation of plant genetic resources;
• Mammalian responses to climate change adaptation;
• Plant community and ecological restoration;
• Land conservation: conserve, redevelop, and un-develop;
• National parks, protected areas, and wilderness.

If you are interested in this position or have any potential candidates for recommendation, please contact the Conservation Editorial Office at conservation@mdpi.com.

Applications to join the Editorial Board of Conservation now open.

Conservation is an internationally peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary, scholarly, electronic Open Access journal. It aims to provide a premium forum for both empirical and theoretical research that has significant implications for conservation in both natural and social sciences, and to explore the multiple links between human society and nature, especially (but not limited to) the areas of:

• Biodiversity and environment conservation
• Resource recycling, conservation, and sustainable management
• Conservation planning and governance
• Conservation ethics and ecology
• Creative and multidisciplinary solutions for conservation and restoration
• Heritage conservation and restoration

We welcome all distinguished scholars—across all fields—who contribute to the advancement of conservation practices and the science behind them. We are devoted to providing a global forum for practitioners and scholars to disseminate their research to all intended audiences and further contribute to the biological, sociological, ethical, economic, and other transdisciplinary dimensions of conservation.

As an Editorial Board Member, you will be responsible for:

1. Providing suggestions for the journal's development, especially in the initial phase as well as in the long term.
2. Promoting /Conservation/ at academic events and increasing its visibility.
3. Suggesting (and optionally editing) special issues related to your field of research and recommending potential guest editors.
4. Prescreening submissions and making decisions on whether these papers should be rejected or accepted for publication.

If you are interested in this position or have any potential candidates for recommendation, please contact the Conservation Editorial Office at conservation@mdpi.com.