Announcements
2 April 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #21 - Annual Report, Swiss Consortium, IWD, ICARS, Serbia
Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.
In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.
Opening Thoughts
MDPI Releases 2024 Annual Achievements Report
I’m pleased to share the release of MDPI’s 2024 Annual Achievements Report, which reflects our commitment to efficiency, transparency, and excellence in scholarly communication. The report showcases key themes related to our growth (highlighting our workforce expansion, new offices, journal milestones), excellence (editorial and publishing advancements), people (talent development and training), and community (partnerships, conferences, and outreach).
MDPI continues to build connections and drive scientific progress
Our mission remains clear: to support researchers worldwide by delivering an efficient, high-quality publishing experience while strengthening the global Open Access (OA) movement.
Advancing Open Access: A Global Knowledge Hub
In 2024, we published 238,000 peer-reviewed OA articles, reaching over 25 million downloads. This reinforces MDPI’s role as a global knowledge hub, breaking down barriers to access and ensuring that high-quality research is freely available to everyone. As part of the OA movement, we are actively democratizing knowledge, making scientific advancements accessible to researchers, policymakers, educators, and the public, without the restrictions of traditional paywalls.
Expanding our Workforce and Strengthening Research Integrity
Our global presence grew in 2024 with the opening of a new Seoul office, and our workforce expanded to 6,650 staff across 21 offices. This reflects our continued growth mindset and investment in global accessibility. We also continued to take a proactive stance on our commitment to research integrity, tripling our team in this area and joining STM’s Integrity Hub and United2Act. This means more rigorous quality control, stronger safeguards, and collaboration with global initiatives to detect and combat unethical publishing practices at an industry level. Our growth is about reinforcing our role as a trusted, ethical, and accessible publishing platform for researchers worldwide.
Growing Partnerships and Impact in Scholarly Communication
MDPI’s partnerships continue to thrive, with over 900 institutional collaborations, including a landmark agreement with ZB MED in Germany, covering more than 100 universities. Additionally, more than 90% of evaluated MDPI journals have been accepted into Web of Science, including 60 new acceptances in 2024, with nearly 300 journals expected to receive a Journal Impact Factor in 2025. In the same period, 37 MDPI journals were accepted into Scopus, bringing our total indexed titles to 306. Most importantly, 95% of authors rate their experience with MDPI as excellent or good – an achievement that underscores our dedication to serving the research community.
I encourage you to read through our Annual Report, which highlights these milestones and our vision for the future. Thank you for being part of MDPI’s journey in advancing open science.
Impactful Research
MDPI Renews Partnership with CSAL to Support Swiss Universities
I am pleased to announce the renewal of our partnership with the Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL) for 2025. This extension reinforces MDPI's dedication to advancing open science through transparency, efficiency, and collaboration.
Our renewed agreement with CSAL strengthens support for Swiss universities, ensuring that gold open access publishing remains both accessible and affordable for researchers across Switzerland. Among the institutions participating in this agreement are ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne, along with 20 other leading institutions, further expanding the reach and impact of our collaborative efforts.
To date, over 3.9 million researchers have published their findings in MDPI journals, a testament to our role in enhancing Switzerland's position as a hub for university education and research.
Inside MDPI
Celebrating International Women's Day: Accelerating Action
In honour of International Women's Day, MDPI embraced the theme “Accelerate Action,” a global call to advance women's progress by implementing effective strategies and resources. As part of our commitment, we highlighted how open access publishing empowers female voices in research and academia.
Throughout March, we featured original blogs authored by MDPI’s female contributors, showcasing the successes of our journals and employees, and addressing pressing topics such as women's health.
“Open Access supports women in education”
Women Accelerating Action Outside of MDPI
MDPI employee Ana Zdravkovic is accelerating action outside of her MDPI role as a Production Assistant. Working with like-minded women at the award-winning Belgrade-based organization UZOR OsnaŽene (meaning ‘empowered women’), they identify serious flaws in cybersecurity, and help protect women and children against online predators by providing evidence to improve legislation and laws around cyber-attacks.
In this article, we interview Ana, celebrating the important and inspiring work that she and the organisation do.
How Open Access Supports Women in Education
Every day, women and girls face barriers in education or career progression. This is caused by a range of factors, including social expectations, poverty, and poor infrastructure.
Quality opportunities and participation in the education system by women is essential to achieving equality and fulfilling their human rights.
Here, we examine how Open Access supports women in education by removing barriers and ensuring that vital research is accessible.
Recent Advancements in Research on Endometriosis
March is Endometriosis Action Month. Endometriosis is a medical condition affecting women and young girls of reproductive age, often causing symptoms such as severe pelvic pain, irregular periods, and infertility.
More research on endometriosis is still urgently needed.
This research will help develop efficient diagnoses and better treatment for those struggling with the condition.
In this article, we explore what endometriosis is and discuss the latest research advancements on the disease.
We also curated a selection of MDPI journals, articles, and Special Issues focusing on gender equity, women in the workplace, and women’s health. Find out more about these by visiting our IWD – Accelerate Action landing page.
As I reflect on the month of March and International Women’s Day, I would like to take a moment to recognize and thank all of the incredible women at MDPI for your dedication to democratizing knowledge and shaping open access. Your contributions are invaluable, and they continue to shape the future of MDPI.
Coming Together for Science
The International Conference on Advanced Remote Sensing (ICARS 2025)
The International Conference on Advanced Remote Sensing (ICARS 2025) took place from 26–28 March 2025, in Barcelona, Spain. It was chaired by Prof. Dr. Fabio Tosti from the Faringdon Research Centre for Non-Destructive Testing and Remote Sensing (UK), Prof. Dr. Andrea Benedetto from University Roma Tre (Italy), and Prof. Dr. Luis Ángel Ruiz from Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV, Spain).
Over three days, the conference explored innovations in Earth and environmental sciences, engineering advancements, and practical applications in biological and agricultural fields.
I am pleased to share that the 1st edition of ICARS 2025 was a great success, with 133 attendees out of 146 registrations. The event featured 43 short talks, 64 posters, and 103 accepted abstracts, along with nine keynote speakers and a major panel with five expert panellists.
Over 60 attendees joined the conference dinner, and the event received outstanding feedback.
The main goal of ICARS2025 was to cover how advanced remote sensing technologies are transforming our approach to global challenges.
Awards
Four awards were presented at the conclusion of the conference, sponsored by the journal Remote Sensing: Best Poster Award (€400), Best Oral Presentation Award (€400), and two Early Career Researcher Awards (1st prize: €600 and 2nd prize: €200).
Thank you to our Partnering Societies
We are grateful for the support of our four partnering societies and nine media partners, who played an important role in promoting the conference. Special thanks to our partnering societies: the European Federation of Geologists (EFG), Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain (GESGB), Asociación Española de Teledetección (AET) – the Spanish Association of Remote Sensing, and the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE).
Upcoming In-Person Event
31 March–2 April 2025
Plants 2025: From Seeds to Food Security
Location: Barcelona, Spain
This event will gather plant scientists to discuss the latest research on how to feed a growing population while maintaining a sustainable agro-ecosystem.
Find more upcoming MDPI events here.
Closing Thoughts
MDPI Serbia Salon 2025: A Gathering of Academic Excellence
On Tuesday, 18 March, we successfully concluded our first MDPI Serbia Salon in Belgrade. This event provided a great opportunity to showcase MDPI’s achievements, strengthen connections with the Serbian academic community, and highlight our role as the largest publisher in Serbia. We were honoured to welcome Prof. Dr. Sergej M. Ostojić, Editor-in-Chief of MDPI journal Clinical Bioenergetics, as a guest speaker.
Over the past five years, MDPI has experienced continuous growth in Serbia, with an increasing number of publications, an expansion of Editorial Board memberships, and a greater number of active peer reviewers. The Salon allowed us to express our thanks to the Serbian research community while gathering feedback from attendees representing several major universities.
Discussion topics
As part of the event, I delivered an opening speech highlighting MDPI’s achievements and direction.
The event featured presentations from MDPI colleagues, including discussions on open science, publishing ethics, and our achievements in Serbia.
A special thank-you to all our MDPI presenters, panellists, and organizers who made his event a success. I hope the MDPI Serbia Salon becomes a tradition for years to come, creating connections within the Serbian research community.
Visit to the Science Fund of Serbia and The Ministry of Science
During my visit to Belgrade, I had the opportunity to join my colleagues Emir Ramadani (Operations Manager) and Nevena Blagojev (Journal Relations Manager) in meetings with the Science Fund of Serbia and the Ministry of Science, where we received strong support for our work in Serbia.
Both organizations highly value our presence in and commitment to Serbia, where we employ over 640 staff across our two offices in Belgrade and Novi Sad. We take great pride in creating job opportunities and supporting the community in Serbia.
“There’s a lot of exciting activity happening in MDPI Serbia”
Speaking with our Serbian Colleagues
Finally, I had the opportunity to speak with our Serbian colleagues about our initiatives to expand and to improve our marketing & communication and public relations activities.
It was great to have an open discussion with colleagues – both in person and with the hundreds who joined online.
This visit to Belgrade had been a long time coming for me. Serbia is our largest operation in Europe and there’s a lot of exciting activity happening in MDPI Serbia, including the launch of a new office floor in Novi Sad and the growth and expansion of our teams.
I look forward to returning soon and continuing to support our colleagues across our Serbian offices.
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG
31 March 2025
Drones | Special Issue “Path Planning, Trajectory Tracking and Guidance for UAVs” Reprint
We are delighted to share with you a reprint of the Special Issues published in January 2025 in Drones (ISSN: 2504-446X). There are fifteen articles that were published.
You can access more reprints of Special Issues published by Drones at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/books/search.
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“Path Planning, Trajectory Tracking and Guidance for UAVs” Guest Editors: Dr. Heng Shi, Prof. Dr. Jihong Zhu, Dr. Zheng Chen and Dr. Minchi Kuang ISBN978-3-7258-2947-7 (Hardback) https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-7258-2948-4 (registering DOI) Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/books/reprint/10421-path-planning-trajectory-tracking-and-guidance-for-uavs |
30 March 2025
Meet Us at the 52nd CAA International Conference (Digital Horizons: Embracing Heritage in an Evolving World), 5–9 May 2025, Athens, Greece
25 March 2025
Drones Webinar | Advanced Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Communication Networks for the Next Generation of Drones, 31 March 2025
This webinar is open to research, university, and industry experts involved in the field of advanced communication networks (both terrestrial and non-terrestrial) and innovative applications for drones.
Webinar speakers will present new findings on basic and advanced research topics.
Any interesting suggestions regarding topics and speakers are welcome.
Date: 31 March 2025
Time: 9:30 a.m. CEST | 4:30 p.m. JST Asia | 3:30 p.m. CST Asia | 6:30 p.m. AEDT
Webinar ID: 839 5264 9119
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Are you unable to attend? Register anyway and we will inform you when the recording is available to watch.
Register now for free!
Program:
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Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CEST |
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Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vizzarri |
9:30–9:35 a.m. |
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Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vizzarri |
9:35–9:55 a.m. |
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Dr. Parameshachari B.D. |
9:55–10:15 a.m. |
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Mr. Jewel Sengupta |
10:15–10:35 a.m. |
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Dr. Miguel García Torres: |
10:35–10:55 a.m. |
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Dr. Kishore A.T.: |
10:55–11:15 a.m. |
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Q&A Session |
11:15–11:25 a.m. |
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Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vizzarri |
11:25–11:30 a.m. |
Webinar Chair and Speakers:
- Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vizzarri, Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy;
- Dr. Parameshachari B.D., Department of ECE, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, India;
- Mr. Jewel Sengupta, Informatics Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania;
- Dr. Miguel García Torres, Data Science and Big Data Lab, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain;
- Dr. Kishore A.T., Dhanwantari Drone Pilot Academy, India.
For more information about this webinar, please visit https://sciforum.net/event/Drones-3?subscribe.
Drones Editorial Office
25 March 2025
Meet Us at the 2025 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 14–17 May 2025, Charlotte, USA
13 March 2025
Drones | Issue Cover Articles Published in 2024
The articles listed below have been selected as part of the 2024 issue cover articles of Drones (ISSN: 2504-446X). These articles represent the latest research advancements in the journal's domain, and we hope they will provide scholars and relevant authors with new research ideas and references.
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1. “The Detection of Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) Using Drones and Optical Sensors: Implications for the Management of Invasive Plants and Insects” |
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2. “Study on Drone Handover Methods Suitable for Multipath Interference Due to Obstacles” |
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3. “Historical and Current Landscapes of Autonomous Quadrotor Control: An Early-Career Researchers’ Guide” |
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4. “Review of Wind Flow Modelling in Urban Environments to Support the Development of Urban Air Mobility” |
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5. “Detection of Leak Areas in Vineyard Irrigation Systems Using UAV-Based Data” |
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6. “Monitoring Nodal Transportation Assets with Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles: A Comprehensive Review” |
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7. “Fed4UL: A Cloud–Edge–End Collaborative Federated Learning Framework for Addressing the Non-IID Data Issue in UAV Logistics” |
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8. “Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave Radar Perspectives on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detection and Classification: A Primer for Researchers with Comprehensive Machine Learning Review and Emphasis on Full-Wave Electromagnetic Computer-Aided Design Tools” |
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9. “Aerodynamic Interaction Minimization in Coaxial Multirotors via Optimized Control Allocation” |
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10. “Potential and Challenges in Airborne Automated External Defibrillator Delivery by Drones in a Mountainous Region”
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11. “Joint Sensing and Communications in Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicle-Assisted Systems” |
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12. “Urban Air Mobility Communications and Networking: Recent Advances, Techniques, and Challenges” |
11 March 2025
Meet Us at the 2025 AAG Annual Meeting, 24–28 March 2025, Detroit, MI, USA
27 February 2025
More than 300 MDPI Journals Indexed in Web of Science
MDPI is pleased to share a significant milestone in its mission to advance scholarly research and promote the dissemination of knowledge—300+ MDPI journals are now indexed in Web of Science (WoS). This milestone highlights the global recognition, interdisciplinary impact and enhanced visibility of our journals. It also reflects our adherence to rigorous editorial standards, scientific integrity, and our mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines.
To explore the full list of our journals indexed in WoS, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals/wos. Beyond expanding the coverage of our publications in the leading academic databases, we are dedicated to ensuring that our journals are included in as many scope-specific databases as possible. This increases the visibility of our authors’ work and extends the reach of their significant data.
This milestone would not have been possible without the efforts and expertise of our academic editors, reviewers and authors. Their commitment and collaboration have been instrumental in creating an inclusive, accessible, and impactful publishing platform. We also extend our gratitude to the global research community for their trust as we continue to break new ground in academic publishing. This milestone is not just a celebration of MDPI’s progress but also recognition of the collective strides made by researchers worldwide.
As we celebrate this remarkable accomplishment, MDPI remains steadfast in its commitment to open access publishing and ensuring that high-quality research reaches and inspires a global audience.
17 February 2025
MDPI Celebrates Excellence in Medical Research with Early Career Researcher Awards
MDPI, a pioneer in scholarly open access publishing, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), Singapore, proudly announce the successful conclusion of the first edition the MDPI Early Career Researcher Awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to medical and biomedical research, were presented to six exceptional researchers during an awards ceremony held at LKCMedicine HQ Building on 28 November 2024.
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Honoring Excellence in Research
The awards recognize exceptional postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D. students who have demonstrated outstanding originality, innovation, and impact in their respective fields. We are honored to announce the winners of the 2024 edition:
Early Career Researcher (Postdoc) Award:
- Dr. Theresia Handayani Mina, “Adiposity and Metabolic Health in Asian Populations: An Epidemiological Study Using Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry in Singapore”;
- Dr. Erfan Rezvani Ghomi, “Wound Healing Improvement by Novel Aligned Antimicrobial Nanofibrous 3D Scaffolds”;
- Dr. Yadollah Ranjbar Slamloo, “Functional Alterations of The Prefrontal Circuit Underlying Cognitive Aging in Mice”.
Early Career Researcher (Ph.D.) Award:
- Pritisha Rozario, “Mechanistic Basis for Potassium Efflux-Driven Activation of the Human NLRP1 Inflammasome”;
- Michelle Law Cheok Yien, “Chikungunya Virus Nonstructural Protein 1 is a Versatile RNA Capping and Decapping Enzyme”;
- Yin Ruoyu, “The Use of Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Tools in Older Adults: A Mixed Method Study”.
Our collaboration highlights a shared commitment to recognizing exceptional talent and research within the academic community, addressing today’s healthcare challenges, and inspiring continued innovation.
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Looking Ahead to 2025
Building on the success of the first edition, MDPI and LKCMedicine are excited to announce that the 2025 MDPI Early Researcher Awards will continue to celebrate excellence and innovation in medical research. The next edition promises to expand its scope, introducing new categories and providing even greater recognition for impactful research.
Further details on the 2025 awards, including nomination criteria and timelines, will be shared in the coming months. We remain committed to fostering a culture of research excellence and collaboration within the global scientific community.
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12 February 2025
Topics Webinar | Leveraging Earth Observation for Assessing Climate Change Impact in the Arctic: Insights and Innovations from the EO-PERSIST Project, 4 March 2025
Permafrost plays a crucial role in the Earth’s climate system, storing vast amounts of carbon and influencing ecosystems, infrastructure, and communities in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. However, as the climate warms, permafrost has begun to thaw at an accelerated rate, creating significant environmental and socioeconomic challenges.
In this webinar, we will explore the critical role of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in monitoring and understanding permafrost changes. From satellite imagery to remote sensing techniques, EO provides valuable, real-time data that help researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders track permafrost dynamics, assess risks, and develop strategies for mitigation and adaptation. Join us to learn how cutting-edge EO innovations are advancing the science of permafrost monitoring and shaping the future of Arctic sustainability. To this end, key research findings will be presented from EO-PERSIST, an EU-funded project that aims to develop a cloud-based platform for mapping the socioeconomic impacts of climate change in the Arctic regions.
Date: 4 March 2025
Time: 4:00 p.m. CET | 10:00 a.m. EST | 11:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 826 0289 7331
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Webinar announcement: https://sciforum.net/event/topics-32
Register now for free!
| Speaker/Presentation | Time in CEST/CET (Basel time) | Time in EST |
| Dr. George P. Petropoulos Chair Introduction |
4:00–4:10 p.m. | 10:00–10:10 a.m. |
| Dr. Ionut Sandric Mapping Permafrost Thawing: Impacts on Landscapes and Ecosystem Using Earth Observation |
4:10–4:30 p.m. | 10:10–10:30 a.m. |
| Dr. Nikolina Myofa Assessing the Socioeconomic Impacts of Climate Change in the Arctic: Insights from the EO-PERSIST Project |
4:30–4:50 p.m. | 10:30–10:50 a.m. |
| Mr. Spyridon E. Detsikas Monitoring Arctic Coastal Properties Using Geoinformatics |
4:50–5:10 p.m. | 10:50–11:10 a.m. |
| Mr. Kleanthis Karamvasis Time Series Analysis of InSAR Data for Improving the Understanding of Snow Dynamics and Freeze-Thaw Cycle in Arctic Environments |
5:10–5:30 p.m. | 11:10–11:30 a.m. |
| Mr. Juval Cohen SAR and Passive Microwave Observations and Modeling Tools for Monitoring Soil Freeze/Thaw Dynamics and Snow Cover Properties in Northern Environments |
5:30–5:50 p.m. | 11:30–11:50 a.m. |
| Q&A Session | 5:50–6:20 p.m. | 11:50–12:20 p.m. |
| Chair Closing of Webinar |
6:20–6:30 p.m. | 12:20–12:30 p.m. |
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic or institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Unable to attend? Feel free to still register; we will inform you when the recording is available.
Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:
- Dr. George P. Petropoulos, Department of Geography, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece;
- Dr. Ionuț Șandric, Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Romania;
- Dr. Nikolina Myofa, Department of Geography, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece;
- Mr. Spyridon E. Detsikas, Department of Geography, Harokopio University of Athens, Greece;
- Mr. Kleanthis Karamvasis, National Technical University of Athens, Remote Sensing Laboratory, Greece;
- Mr. Juval Cohen, Research Scientist, Earth Observation Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland.
Relevant Special Issues and Papers:
“Environmental Monitoring Based on Remote Sensing, Earth Observation and Geoinformation”
Guest Editors: Dr. George P. Petropoulos, Prof. Dr. Daniela Silva-Fuzzo, Prof. Dr. Nikos Koutsias and Prof. Dr. Yansong Bao
Deadline for manuscript submission: 29 July 2025
“Quantifying Soil Erosion Processes Using Satellite Data: Progress and Perspectives”
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Arjun Heimsath
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 April 2025
“Open-Source Geoinformation Software Tools in Environmental Modelling”
Guest Editors: Dr. George P. Petropoulos, Dr. Prashant Srivastava and Prof. Dr. Daniela Silva-Fuzzo
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025
“Aerial and Drone LiDAR Data for Geomorphological Mapping, Landform Extraction and Landscape Evolution”
Edited by Dr. Dario Gioia, Dr. Nicodemo Abate, Dr. Giuseppe Corrado, Dr. Antonio Minervino Amodio and Prof. Marcello Schiattarella
“Segment Anything Model Can Not Segment Anything: Assessing AI Foundation Model’s Generalizability in Permafrost Mapping”
by Wenwen Li, Chia-Yu Hsu, Sizhe Wang, Yezhou Yang, Hyunho Lee, Anna Liljedahl, Chandi Witharana, Yili Yang, Brendan M. Rogers, Samantha T. Arundel et al.
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(5), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16050797
“New Method for Hydraulic Characterization of Variably Saturated Zone in Peatland-Dominated Permafrost Mires”
by Radhakrishna Bangalore Lakshmiprasad, Stephan Peth, Susanne K. Woche, and Thomas Graf
Land 2024, 13(12), 1990; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13121990
“Assessment of Ecosystem Service Value in Response to LULC Changes Using Geospatial Techniques: A Case Study in the Merbil Wetland of the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam, India”
by Durlov Lahon, Dhrubajyoti Sahariah, Jatan Debnath, Nityaranjan Nath, Gowhar Meraj, Pankaj Kumar, Shizuka Hashimoto and Majid Farooq
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2023, 12(4), 165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi12040165
