Announcements

The Third National Conference on Coastal Zones will be held from 28 to 30 July 2025 in Yantai, Shandong Province, under the theme of “Sustainable Coastal Zones”. The conference focuses on coastal zone resources and environment monitoring, land- and sea-integrated planning, ecological restoration and disaster prevention and control and other cutting-edge issues, aiming to respond to the strategic needs of the national ocean power and ecological civilization construction and to promote scientific and technological innovation in the field of coastal zone and sustainable development. Through keynote reports, invited special reports, a scholars’ forum, poster presentations, journal columns, and other diversified forms, the conference will systematically highlight the latest achievements in coastal zone research driven by new technologies such as air and space information, big data, artificial intelligence, etc., and discuss the scientific path of the integrated management of coastal zones, ecological protection, and synergistic economic and social development. The conference will provide an interdisciplinary exchange platform for domestic and international experts, scholars, industry representatives, and young researchers to help modernize governance systems and promote the high-quality development of China’s coastal zone.

MDPI will be attending the conference as an exhibitor. We welcome researchers from diverse backgrounds to attend and share their latest ideas with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Ecologies;
• Diversity;
• JMSE;
• Land;
• Earth;
• Safety;
• Coasts;
• Conservation;
• Environments;
• Remote Sensing;
• Hydrology.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, we encourage you to visit our booth and speak to our representatives. We are eager to meet you in person and assist you with any queries that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the official website: https://www.science-conference.pro/demo_1023/cn/index.html.

From 27 April to 2 May 2025, MDPI joined the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna, Austria, welcoming over 20,984 attendees from 120+ countries at booth 02 in the Entrance Hall. This landmark event featured 18,934 presentations across 1,102 sessions, with 56% of abstracts contributed by Early Career Scientists (ECSs)—a testament to the vibrant future of geosciences.

Academic Engagement: Dialogue and Collaboration

Meet the Editors-in-Chief
We hosted two insightful sessions with editorial leaders from top journals:

• April 28: Prof. Dr. Stephen Macko (Editor-in-Chief of Nitrogen) and Prof. Dr. Zhong Lu (Editor-in-Chief of GeoHazards);
• April 29: Dr. Tommaso Caloiero (Section Editor-in-Chief of Hydrology) and Prof. Dr. Rui A. P. Perdigão (Section Editor-in-Chief of Climate).

These discussions fostered meaningful connections between attendees and editors, strengthening our commitment to supporting scholarly exchange.

Environmental and Earth Sciences Journals Editorial Board Meeting

Award Ceremonies: Honoring Innovation

Remote Sensing Travel Award
On April 30, Dr. Nicola Nocentini (University of Padua and University of Florence) received the award from Associate Editor Prof. Dr. Fabio Tosti. Following the ceremony, Dr. Nocentini shared insights into an exclusive booth interview.

Geosciences Best Paper Award

Prof. Dr. Olivier Lacombe (Section Editor-in-Chief of Geosciences) presented the award for the paper “Improving the Estimation of the Occurrence Time of an Impending Major Earthquake Using the Entropy Change of Seismicity in Natural Time Analysis”—a groundbreaking study on earthquake prediction.

Interactive Highlights: Fun and Engagement

Raffle Games
Attendees enjoyed lively prize draws, with customized gifts adding a playful touch to scientific networking.

Quick Q&A Sessions
Topic-based quizzes sparked friendly competition, turning academic curiosity into interactive fun—even hesitant scholars joined the excitement!

Looking Ahead: Advancing Open Science

Participating in the EGU General Assembly constituted a profoundly enriching experience. Through this engagement, we engaged in profound dialogues not only with authors, reviewers, and members of the Editorial Boards associated with MDPI, but also were afforded the invaluable opportunity to disseminate our institutional mission to emerging scholars.
As an entity steadfastly committed to fostering open scientific exchange across all academic disciplines, MDPI reaffirms its unwavering dedication to advancing global scholarship. We earnestly look forward to prospects of connecting with researchers from around the world, collaborating in unison to expand the frontiers of knowledge and advocate for the practices of open science.

Conference: 60th Croatian and 20th International Symposium on Agriculture
Organization: Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, and Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb
Date: 1–6 June 2025
Place: Bol, Croatia

MDPI journals will be present as exhibitors at the 60th Croatian and 20th International Symposium on Agriculture, which will be held at Hotel Bluesun Elaphusa, Bol, Croatia, from 1 to 6 June 2025.

This conference will cover the following topics:

1. Plant and Food Production;
2. Animal Production and Food Quality;
3. Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture;
4. Biodiversity Conservation;
5. Agribusiness and Smart Agriculture;
6. Youth and Education in Life Sciences.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Agriculture;
• Crops;
• AgriEngineering;
• Poultry;
• Sustainability;
• Grasses;
• Horticulturae;
• Land;
• Agronomy.

If you will be attending this conference, please feel free to visit our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the official website: https://sa.fazos.hr/.

We are thrilled to share the Exceptional Reviewers List 2025. This program was designed to recognize and honor scholars who have delivered consistently exceptional review reports to our journal. Committed to fostering rigorous research and promoting knowledge exchange, Land (ISSN: 2073-445X) recognizes the significant role our reviewers play in maintaining the quality and integrity of the articles we publish.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all the reviewers who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to assist in the peer review process for Land. Their dedication and attention to detail in evaluating manuscripts, offering valuable feedback, and contributing to academic rigor are truly commendable.

The Exceptional Reviewers List was introduced in April 2025. Each quarter, we will be selecting a group of outstanding reviewers and will introduce them here.

Q1

We are delighted to present a list of papers published in Land (ISSN: 2073-445X) in the first half of 2024 that have received considerable attention.

1. “Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot”
by Konstantinos Kougioumoutzis, Maria Tsakiri, Ioannis P. Kokkoris, Panayiotis Trigas, Gregoris Iatrou, Fotini N. Lamari, Dimitris Tzanoudakis, Eleni Koumoutsou, Panayotis Dimopoulos, Arne Strid et al.
Land 2024, 13(2), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020133
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/133

2. “Study of Regional Spatial and Temporal Changes of Net Ecosystem Productivity of Crops from Remotely Sensed Data”
by Peng Wang, Yong Xue, Zhigang Yan, Wenping Yin, Botao He and Pei Li
Land 2024, 13(2), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020155
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/155

3. “Key Drivers of Land Use Changes in the Rural Area of Gargano (South Italy) and Their Implications for the Local Sustainable Development”
by Nazgul Esengulova, Pasquale Balena, Caterina De Lucia, Antonio Lopolito and Pasquale Pazienza
Land 2024, 13(2), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020166
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/166

4. “Integrating Landscape Character Assessment with Community Values in a Scenic Evaluation Methodology for Regional Landscape Planning”
by Ata Tara, Gillian Lawson, Wendy Davies, Alan Chenoweth and Georgina Pratten
Land 2024, 13(2), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020169
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/169

5. “Enhancing Sustainability and Yield in Maritime Pine Forests: Evaluating Silvicultural Models for Natural Regeneration”
by André Sandim, Maria Emília Silva, Paulo Fernandes and Teresa Fonseca
Land 2024, 13(2), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020170
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/170

6. “Soil Loss Estimation by Water Erosion in Agricultural Areas Introducing Artificial Intelligence Geospatial Layers into the RUSLE Model”
by Nikiforos Samarinas, Nikolaos L. Tsakiridis, Eleni Kalopesa and George C. Zalidis
Land 2024, 13(2), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020174
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/2/174

7. “Scenario Analysis of Green Infrastructure to Adapt Medium-Size Cities to Climate Change: The Case of Zaragoza, Spain”
by Elie Hanna, María R. Felipe-Lucia and Francisco A. Comín
Land 2024, 13(3), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030280
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/3/280

8. “Sample Size Optimization for Digital Soil Mapping: An Empirical Example”
by Daniel D. Saurette, Richard J. Heck, Adam W. Gillespie, Aaron A. Berg and Asim Biswas
Land 2024, 13(3), 365; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030365
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/3/365

9. “Potential Interactions between Climate Change and Land Use for Forest Issues in the Eastern United States”
by Brice B. Hanberry, Marc D. Abrams and Gregory J. Nowacki
Land 2024, 13(3), 398; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030398
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/3/398

10. “Exploring Sensitivity of Phenology to Seasonal Climate Differences in Temperate Grasslands of China Based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index”
by Xiaoshuai Wei, Mingze Xu, Hongxian Zhao, Xinyue Liu, Zifan Guo, Xinhao Li and Tianshan Zha
Land 2024, 13(3), 399; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030399
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/3/399

We are delighted to present a list of papers published in Land (ISSN: 2073-445X) in the first half of 2024 that have received considerable attention.

1. “Predicting Land Cover Using a GIS-Based Markov Chain and Sea Level Inundation for a Coastal Area”
by Colleen Healey, Eman Ghoneim, Ai Ning Loh and Yalei You
Land 2024, 13(6), 775; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060775
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/775

2. “Mapping Dryland Ecosystems Using Google Earth Engine and Random Forest: A Case Study of an Ecologically Critical Area in Northern China”
by Shuai Li, Pu Guo, Fei Sun, Jinlei Zhu, Xiaoming Cao, Xue Dong and Qi Lu
Land 2024, 13(6), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060845
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/845

3. “Land Use Policy Frameworks in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand: Examining the Opportunities and Barriers of Indigenous-Led Conservation and Protected Areas”
by Emalee A. Vandermale, Jordyn Bogetti and Courtney W. Mason
Land 2024, 13(6), 886; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060886
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/886

4. “Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Support the Remediation of Polluted Soils: A Review of Case Studies”
by Floris Abrams, Lucas Hendrickx, Catrinel Turcanu, Lieve Sweeck and Jos Van Orshoven
Land 2024, 13(6), 887; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060887
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/887

5. “Protected Areas in the Brazilian Amazon Threatened by Cycles of Property Registration, Cattle Ranching, and Deforestation”
by Malena Candino, A. Brandão, J. Munger, L. Rausch and H. K. Gibbs
Land 2024, 13(7), 901; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070901
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/7/901

6. “Competition for Land: Equity and Renewable Energy in Farmlands”
by Mary Ann Cunningham and Jeffrey Seidman
Land 2024, 13(7), 939; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070939
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/7/939

7. “Assessment of the Implementation Effects of Main Functional Area Planning in the Yangtze River Economic Belt”
by Ming Wei, Wen Chen and Yi Wang
Land 2024, 13(7), 940; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070940
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/7/940

We are delighted to present a list of papers published in Land (ISSN: 2073-445X) in the first half of 2024 that have received considerable attention.

1. “Remote Sensing Inversion of Salinization Degree Distribution and Analysis of Its Influencing Factors in an Arid Irrigated District”
by Shuoyang Li, Guiyu Yang, Cui Chang, Hao Wang, Hongling Zhang, Na Zhang, Zhigong Peng and Yaomingqi Song
Land 2024, 13(4), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040422
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/422

2. “Developing a Wilderness Quality Index for Continental Europe”
by Iurii Strus and Stephen Carver
Land 2024, 13(4), 428; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040428
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/428

3. “A Multi-Scenario Simulation and Dynamic Assessment of the Ecosystem Service Values in Key Ecological Functional Areas: A Case Study of the Sichuan Province, China”
by Wei Li, Xi Chen, Jianghua Zheng, Feifei Zhang, Yang Yan, Wenyue Hai, Chuqiao Han and Liang Liu
Land 2024, 13(4), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040468
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/468

4. “Impact of Cropland Management on Invertebrate Richness and Abundance in Agroforestry Systems in Bali, Indonesia”
by Marco Campera, Jessica Chavez, Coral Humber, Vinni Jain, Hannah Cioci, Fadilla Aulia, Kristiana Aurel Alua, Desak Ayu Diah Prawerti, Sabarian Riskinto Ramadani Ali, I Wayan Swastika et al.
Land 2024, 13(4), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040493
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/493

5. “Leveraging Reed Bed Burnings as Indicators of Wetland Conversion in Modern Greece”
by Cleo Maria Gaganis, Andreas Y. Troumbis and Themistoklis Kontos
Land 2024, 13(4), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040538
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/538

6. “Natural Climate Protection through Peatland Rewetting: A Future for the Rathsbruch Peatland in Germany”
by Petra Schneider, Tino Fauk, Florin-Constantin Mihai, Harald Junker, Bernd Ettmer and Volker Lüderitz
Land 2024, 13(5), 581; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050581
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/5/581

7. “Trends and Factors Influencing the Evolution of Spatial Patterns of Cropland toward Large-Scale Agricultural Production in China”
by Xinyan Wang, Qingyu Feng, Boyong Li, Yinlin Fan, Huihui Fan, Nengliang Yang, Yuan Quan, Huanru Ding and Yunlu Zhang
Land 2024, 13(5), 607; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050607
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/5/607

8. “Consequences of Land Use Changes on Native Forest and Agricultural Areas in Central-Southern Chile during the Last Fifty Years”
by Alejandro del Pozo, Giordano Catenacci-Aguilera and Belén Acosta-Gallo
Land 2024, 13(5), 610; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050610
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/5/610

9. “Understanding and Assessing Climate Change Risk to Green Infrastructure: Experiences from Greater Manchester (UK)”
by Jeremy Carter, S.M. Labib and Ian Mell
Land 2024, 13(5), 697; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050697
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/5/697

10. “Determining the Climatic Drivers for Wine Production in the Côa Region (Portugal) Using a Machine Learning Approach”
by Helder Fraga, Teresa R. Freitas, Marco Moriondo, Daniel Molitor and João A. Santos
Land 2024, 13(6), 749; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060749
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/6/749

We are delighted to announce that Issue 4, Volume 14 of Land (ISSN: 2073-445X), was released in April 2025. The following is a list of partial articles which we believe will be of interest to you:

Cover Story:

Section: “Land Systems and Global Change”
“Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensor Backpack for Assessing Spatial and Temporal Variations in Soil Water Content in an Agroforestry System in Northern Spain”
by Leticia Gaspar, Trenton E. Franz and Ana Navas
Land 2025, 14(4), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040744
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/744

Section: “Landscape Ecology”
“Anthropogenic Disturbances in Northwestern Virunga Forest Amid Armed Conflict”
by Charles Mumbere Musavandalo, Pyrus Flavien Ebouel Essouman, Serge Shakanye Ndjadi, Julien Bwazani Balandi, Timothée Besisa Nguba, Carlo Sodalo, Jean-Pierre Mate Mweru, Kouagou Raoul Sambieni and Jan Bogaert
Land 2025, 14(4), 732; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040732
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/732

Section: “Land, Soil and Water”
“Land Drainage Interventions for Climate Change Adaptation: An Overlooked Phenomenon—A Conceptual Case Study from Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic”
by Jiří Černý, Petr Fučík and Antonín Zajíček
Land 2025, 14(4), 782; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040782
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/782

Section: “Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues”
“Home Elevation Decisions in Post-Disaster Recovery: Social Vulnerability, Policy Gaps, and Lessons from Houston”
by Ivis García, Zhihan Tao, Julia Orduña, Leslie Martínez-Román and Windya Welideniya
Land 2025, 14(4), 689; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040689
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/689

Section: “Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions”
“A Method for Delineating Urban Development Boundaries Based on the Urban–Rural Integration Perspective”
by Mengjing Wang, Walter Timo de Vries, Wanchen Sang, Haijun Bao, Yuefeng Lyu and Sheng Liu
Land 2025, 14(4), 859; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040859
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/859

Section: “Land–Climate Interactions”
“Evaluating Natural Climate Solutions in Long-Term Climate Strategies: Opportunities for Enhanced Mitigation Across the European Union”
by Giulio Di Lallo, Chiara De Notaris and Maria Vincenza Chiriacò
Land 2025, 14(4), 825; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040825
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/825

Section: “Landscape Archaeology”
“Exploring the Rural Landscape of the Marches of the Welsh Borders in Roman Times Through Intervisibility Analysis”
by Daniel E. May
Land 2025, 14(4), 728; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040728
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/728

Section: “Land, Biodiversity, and Human Wellbeing”
“Application of Forest Integrity Assessment to Determine Community Diversity in Plantation Forests Managed Under Carbon Sequestration Projects in the Western Qinba Mountains, China”
by Chun-Jing Wang, Dong-Zhou Deng, Wu-Xian Yan, Zhi-Wen Gao, Shan-Feng Huang and Ji-Zhong Wan
Land 2025, 14(4), 798; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040798
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/798

Section: “Land Use, Impact Assessment and Sustainability”
“Nature Conservation and Sustainable Tourism in a Former Baltic Sea Coastal Military Area”
by Egidijus Jurkus, Julius Taminskas, Arvydas Urbis and Ramūnas Povilanskas
Land 2025, 14(4), 887; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040887
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/887

Section: “Land Innovations – Data and Machine Learning”
“Segmentation Performance and Mapping of Dunes in Multi-Source Remote Sensing Images Using Deep Learning”
by Pengyu Zhao, Jiale An, Jianghua Zheng, Wanqiang Han, Nigela Tuerxun, Bochao Cui and Xuemi Zhao
Land 2025, 14(4), 713; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040713
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/713

Section: “Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus”
“Incorporating Stepping Stone Establishment into Rural Ecological Security Pattern Optimization: A Water–Energy–Food Coupling Perspective”
by Jingwen Tian, Bolun Zhang, Jiaying Li, Anxiao Zhang and Ling Zhu
Land 2025, 14(4), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040862
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/862

Section: “Land – Observation and Monitoring”
“The Potential of the Copernicus Product “Imperviousness Classified Change” to Assess Soil Sealing in Agricultural Areas in Poland and Norway”
by Wendy Fjellstad, Agata Hościło, Svein Olav Krøgli, Jonathan Rizzi and Milena Chmielewska
Land 2025, 14(4), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040794
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/794

Section: “Land Planning and Landscape Architecture”
“Unregulated Urban Regeneration in Athens: Greening and Taxation of the Built Environment as Impending Levers of Increasing Inequalities”
by Thomas Maloutas, Stavros Nikiforos Spyrellis and Fereniki Vatavali
Land 2025, 14(4), 777; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040777
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/777

General

“Enhancing Post-Disaster Food Security Through Urban Agriculture in the Context of Climate Change”
by Yanxin Liu,Victoria Chanse and Fabricio Chicca
Land 2025, 14(4), 799; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040799
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/799

“Possibilities and Limitations of a Geospatial Approach to Refine Habitat Mapping for Greater Gliders (Petauroides spp.)”
by Jess E. Evans, Elizabeth A. Brunton, Javier X. Leon, Teresa J. Eyre and Romane H. Cristescu
Land 2025, 14(4), 784; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040784
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/4/784

Land (ISSN: 2073-445X) is pleased to announce the following 23 researchers, who have been added to our group of 2025–2026 Early Career Editorial Board Members. Please join us in congratulating them on joining the Land community!

MDPI is excited to collaborate with Toronto Metropolitan University to host an engaging Scientific Publishing Workshop aimed at empowering scholars with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed in academic publishing. This workshop will delve into the key aspects of MDPI’s open access publishing framework, offering an in-depth exploration of journal selection, the editorial workflow, and the essentials of publication ethics. Participants will also gain practical advice on improving their scientific writing and effectively addressing reviewer comments, with guidance from an experienced professional. This session promises to equip attendees with valuable skills to elevate their publishing journey.

Workshop Highlights:

• Learn How to Better Write and Structure a Research Article;
• How to Choose Where to Publish Academic Work;
• How to Respond to Reviewer Comments;
• Reasons for Rejection During Pre-Check;
• How to Navigate Through Ethics and AI Use.

Date: 15 May 2025
Time: 12:00–1:30 p.m.
Venue: Toronto Metropolitan University

Program: