Announcements
29 April 2026
Land | Invitation to Read Papers and Hot Topic Special Issues Related to Dryland Ecosystem (I)
We are delighted to share some papers on dryland ecosystem research that were published in our journal Land (ISSN: 2073-445X) in 2024–2026. In addition, some Special Issues related to this topic are currently open for submission.
The following is a list of articles and Special Issues that we believe will interest you:
1. “Spatiotemporal Distribution and Fragmentation Driving Mechanism in Paddy Fields and Dryland of Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River”
by Dehua Li, Linghua Duo, Chenhao Bao, Xiaoping Zhang and Zili Zou
Land 2024, 13(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010058
2. “Assessment of Soil Quality of Smallholder Agroecosystems in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil”
by Rodrigo Santana Macedo, Renato Pereira Lima, Kalline de Almeida Alves Carneiro, Letícia Moro, Daiana Caroline Refati, Milton Cesar Costa Campos, Raphael Moreira Beirigo, Gislayne Kayne Gomes da Cruz, Antonio Augusto Pereira de Sousa, José Félix de Brito Neto et al.
Land 2024, 13(3), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030304
3. “Temperature Mainly Determined the Seasonal Variations in Soil Faunal Communities in Semiarid Areas”
by Zhiyong Li, Xi Yang, Wei Long, Ranran Song, Xuchao Zhu, Tongchuan Li, Ming’an Shao, Mingyu Chen and Miao Gan
Land 2024, 13(4), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13040505
4. “Seasonal Scale Climatic Factors on Grassland Phenology in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones”
by Tong Dong, Jing Liu, Mingjie Shi, Panxing He, Ping Li and Dahai Liu
Land 2024, 13(5), 653; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050653
5. “Managing Risk Mitigation in Urban Expansion Areas of Argentina’s Drylands: The Gap between Perception and Environmental Behaviour”
by Romina Sales and Alejandro J. Rescia
Land 2024, 13(8), 1216; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13081216
6. “Towards Uncovering Three Decades of LULC in the Brazilian Drylands: Caatinga Biome Dynamics (1985–2019)”
by Washington J. S. Franca Rocha, Rodrigo N. Vasconcelos, Diego P. Costa, Soltan Galano Duverger, Jocimara S. B. Lobão, Deorgia T. M. Souza, Stefanie M. Herrmann, Nerivaldo A. Santos, Rafael O. Franca Rocha, Jefferson Ferreira-Ferreira et al.
Land 2024, 13(8), 1250; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13081250
7. “Combined Application of Chemical and Organic Fertilizers Promoted Soil Carbon Sequestration and Bacterial Community Diversity in Dryland Wheat Fields”
by Hongmei Song, Zixuan Chang, Xuan Hu, Yan Li, Chengjiao Duan, Lifan Yang, Haoying Wang and Tingliang Li
Land 2024, 13(8), 1296; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13081296
8. “Soil Classification Based on Local and Scientific Knowledge in an Irrigated District in the Semi-Arid Region of Brazil”
by Jucirema Ferreira da Silva, Miguel Ferreira Neto, Jeane Cruz Portela, Joaquim Emanuel Fernandes Gondim, Stefeson Bezerra de Melo, Diana Ferreira de Freitas, José Francismar de Medeiros, Nildo da Silva Dias, Tayd Dayvison Custódio Peixoto and Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá
Land 2024, 13(10), 1559; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101559
9. “Climate Change Effects on Land Use and Land Cover Suitability in the Southern Brazilian Semiarid Region”
by Lucas Augusto Pereira da Silva, Edson Eyji Sano, Taya Cristo Parreiras, Édson Luis Bolfe, Mário Marcos Espírito-Santo, Roberto Filgueiras, Cristiano Marcelo Pereira de Souza, Claudionor Ribeiro da Silva and Marcos Esdras Leite
Land 2024, 13(12), 2008; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13122008
10. “Performance Assessment of Individual and Ensemble Learning Models for Gully Erosion Susceptibility Mapping in a Mountainous and Semi-Arid Region”
by Meryem El Bouzekraoui, Abdenbi Elaloui, Samira Krimissa, Kamal Abdelrahman, Ali Y. Kahal, Sonia Hajji, Maryem Ismaili, Biraj Kanti Mondal and Mustapha Namous
Land 2024, 13(12), 2110; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13122110
Special Issues:
“Earth’s Drylands: Tackling Desertification in Arid Regions”
Guest Editor: Humberto Barbosa
Submission deadline: 30 June 2026
“Salinity Monitoring and Modelling at Different Scales: 2nd Edition”
Guest Editors: Maria da Conceição Gonçalves, Mohammad Farzamian and Tiago Brito Ramos
Submission deadline: 31 May 2026
“Soil and Water Resources Management for Combating Desertification in Drylands Under Climate Change”
Guest Editors: Mohamed Ouessar, Elena Bresci and Rabi H. Mohtar
Submission deadline: 30 September 2026
29 April 2026
Meet Us at the 3rd Cross-Disciplinary Forum on Artificial Intelligence and Remote Sensing, 15–17 May 2026, Changsha, China
27 April 2026
Land | Selected Special Issue Reprints Published in Q1 of 2026
We are delighted to share with you 8 reprints of Special Issues published in Q1 of 2026 in Land (ISSN: 2073-445X). They were selected by the Land Editorial Office, each with 8 or more articles published. You can read more reprints of the Special Issues published by Land here.
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1. “Land Use/Land Cover and Natural Hazards” |
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2. “Resilient Cities and Land Take Effective Management Through Sustainable Urban Planning Tools” |
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3. “Towards Healthy and Sustainable Human Settlement” |
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4. “Smart Land Use Planning II” |
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5. “Conservation of Bio- and Geo-Diversity and Landscape Changes” |
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6. “Future Scenarios of Land Use and Land Cover Change” |
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7. “Influence of Urbanization-Related Radical Land Modification on Urban Extreme Climate” |
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8. “Soil Ecological Risk Assessment Based on LULC” |
24 April 2026
Prof. Dr. William Gerwick Appointed Chair of the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee
We are honored to announce that Prof. Dr. William Gerwick will serve as the Chair of the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee.
A world-renowned authority in marine natural products chemistry and pharmacology, Professor Gerwick is a Distinguished Professor at both the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). His pioneering work at the intersection of ocean sciences and drug discovery makes him a fitting leader for an award centered on transformative medicinal breakthroughs.
Under Professor Gerwick’s stewardship, the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee will focus on recognizing innovative and impactful research in natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry, particularly work with the potential to drive meaningful advances in both scientific understanding and human health.
To provide further insight into his perspectives, we include below an interview with Professor Gerwick, in which he reflects on his scientific journey, his views on the field, and his vision for the Tu Youyou Award.
A Conversation with the Chair
1. Could you please introduce yourself and your research journey?
My research focuses on the natural products of marine algae and cyanobacteria, their application in medicine, their biosynthesis using genomic approaches, and innovative methods in the structure elucidation of natural products.
I received my BS degree from the University of California at Davis, my PhD from the University of California at San Diego, and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Connecticut. After a couple of years in a junior faculty position at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, I spent 21 years as Professor of Pharmacy at Oregon State University. In 2005, I returned to my PhD institution at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego, where I am currently a Distinguished Professor of Oceanography and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to advancing the field through both leadership and mentorship. I have served as president of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, chaired and co-chaired several major research conferences, and served as an associate editor for the Journal of Natural Products. I am a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. I have trained over 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students, and my research group has published nearly 500 papers and more than 25 patents on topics in the natural product sciences and medicinal chemistry.
2. What motivated you to accept the role of Chair of the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee?
Of course, I am a huge supporter of all awards that are given in recognition of excellent scientific research, and especially so in the natural products sciences and medicinal chemistry. However, this award is truly special in that it recognizes scientific excellence as well as impact, and is given in the name of an individual, Tu Youyou, who clearly had many challenges along the path to reach the pinnacle of her success. Not only was she the first Chinese person to win a Nobel prize in this area, but she was also the first Chinese woman to receive a Nobel prize, and this was achieved without graduate education in China or elsewhere. It’s a true testament to what can be achieved by hard work, determination, and vision. To read the history of her extraordinary approach to discovering novel antimalarial compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicine is truly inspirational. It is, therefore, the inspiration provided by the extraordinary life and career of Tu Youyou that motivated me to accept the Chair of the Award Committee for 2026.
3. How do you view the role of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry in today’s scientific landscape, and what major advances over the past decade have shaped this field?
A quite remarkable integration of fields is currently transforming natural products science and medicinal chemistry. In natural products, we are seeing integration of different omics methods, from metabolites to proteins to nucleic acids. Sophisticated biological and pharmacological approaches are driving the discovery of exquisitely potent and selective natural products. Advances are being made to integrate molecular-level recognition of natural products with chemical ecological studies, and sophisticated methods of structure determination using Artificial Intelligence or pioneering new tools such as microED are being applied with increasing frequency. High-level synthetic methodologies, such as protecting group-free synthetic routes, are enhancing medicinal chemistry, accelerating the identification of lead molecules with attractive pharmaceutical properties at an increasing pace.
4. How do you consider the balance between fundamental discovery (e.g., new molecules or mechanisms) and practical impact (e.g., therapeutic applications)?
Many individuals are excellent scientists and mentors, and have essential roles in developing our culture that values science and the scientific method. It should also be pointed out that not all scientific discoveries are going to have a broad societal impact, but they are nevertheless critical to the overall body and structure of science. But it is a truly remarkable individual who makes a key scientific discovery, recognizes its potential value to society in general, and then has the skills and determination to bring it forward as a useful product. That was the type of person the Tu Youyou is, and that is the type of person who is honored by the prize in her name.
5. What do you see as the key challenges or opportunities currently facing the field?
We are on the crux of an amazing revolution in many of the sciences, including natural products and medicinal chemistry; the purposeful application of Artificial Intelligence to solving many of the difficulties involved in the search for new pharmaceuticals from Nature. AI is transforming how we select organisms for study, what pharmaceutical targets to go after, rapidly resolving the chemical structures of new compounds, identifying efficient routes to their chemical synthesis, understanding their molecular mechanisms of action, and finally, designing their clinical application. The role of people in these pursuits is changing. Increasingly, the human role will be providing overall vision: what can we do? What should we do? And it is important to remember that AI is providing hypotheses, not truth. Scientists with expert domain knowledge will be critical for discerning the correctness of hypotheses put forth by AI. Altogether, advances in technology, expanding knowledge, and the appropriate use of AI methods are preparing society to be able to address emerging diseases, such as pandemics, as well as conditions that are not effectively treated by currently existing therapeutics.
6. How do you expect the Tu Youyou Award to contribute to the advancement of natural product chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and human health over the coming years?
The Tu Youyou Award is potentially transformative for the broad fields of natural products science and medicinal chemistry as it brings a significantly increased level of visibility to these topics and their contributions to human health. It will be crucial to have excellent communication to news agencies, social media and other communication outlets so that the general public is informed and educated on the high impact of these natural product/medicinal chemistry contributions. This will bring increased funding, attract promising students, and generally enrich the interface of these fields with the health sector.
7. What message would you like to convey to the research community and the public during this open nomination phase?
This prize gives broad societal visibility to the role that natural products have had in shaping a majority of our current medicines, as well as understanding the life forms with whom we share the planet. Further, it recognizes a woman scientist working under sub-optimal conditions who could persevere and make discoveries of global impact. The prize and what it represents, therefore, inspires current and future generations to engage in the study of Nature and its relationship to Human Health, to overcome adversity, and to aspire to making one’s life impactful.
About the Tu Youyou Award
Established in 2016, the Tu Youyou Award seeks to honor those who excel in the fields of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry. This award offers a total prize of CHF 100,000, which will be equally divided among the winners if there is more than one, with each recipient receiving an award medal and a certificate.
The 2026 Tu Youyou Award is open for nominations until 31 October 2026. We encourage all eligible candidates to participate in this prestigious recognition, as this award not only honors individual achievement but also encourages further scientific exchange, exploration and discovery in critical areas of medicine.
If you are interested in participating, please visit the Tu Youyou Award website for more information on the nomination requirements.
23 April 2026
Meet Us at the JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2026, 24–29 May 2026, Chiba, Japan
21 April 2026
Land | Call for Papers for Newly Launched Special Issues in February 2026
20 April 2026
Meet Us at the 2026 Forum on Urban–Rural Resource Revitalization and High-Quality Population Development, 15–17 May 2026, Changsha, China
20 April 2026
Land Webinar | Urban Micro-Segregation: Taking Segregation Analysis at the Micro Level, 28 April 2026
Urban micro-segregation, which refers to small-scale segregation below the scale of the neighborhood, is an emerging topic in urban research and poses new questions for segregation studies:
- It examines the multiple forms of urban micro-segregation in different urban contexts across the world;
- It investigates the mechanisms that produce urban micro-segregation and the trends in their reproduction;
- It evaluates the importance of urban micro-segregation for social reproduction in terms of its impact on social inequalities and discrimination.
Emerging research on urban micro-segregation provides a deeper analysis of the function of social (and/or ethno-racial) mixing and separation below the neighborhood level, promoting discussion of the effective relationship between social and spatial distance and its impact on social reproduction. This leads to a better understanding of different types of social mixes and their characteristics, which must be addressed to facilitate urban policies promoting social integration and cohesion.
This webinar is a follow-up of the edited volume Vertical Cities (Edward Elgar, 2022) and a Special Issue of Land (ISSN: 2073-445X), “Urban Micro-Segregation”. It gathers evidence on micro-segregation forms from diverse metropolitan contexts across the planet and explores how social reproduction and urban micro-segregation are shaped by global and local forces.
Date: 28 April 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (CEST) | 10:00 a.m. (EDT)
Webinar ID: 834 7378 2639
Website: https://sciforum.net/event/Land-8?subscribe
Register now for free!
Program:
| Speaker/Presentation | Time in CEST | Time in EDT |
| Mioara-Madalina Buzatu Journal Introduction and Overview of Submission Process | 4:00–4:10 p.m. | 10:00–10:10 a.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Thomas Maloutas and Prof. Dr. John Logan (Chair) Chair Introduction (Webinar Opening and Relevant Special Issue Introduction) | 4:10–4:25 p.m. | 10:10–10:25 a.m. |
| Prof. Karin Grundström and Prof. Christine Lelevrier Imposing ‘Enclosed Communities’? Urban Gating of Large Housing Estates in Sweden and France | 4:25–4:45 p.m. | 10:25–10:45 a.m. |
| Q&A Session | 4:45–4:50 p.m. | 10:45–10:50 a.m. |
| Dr. Thomas Pfirsch Controlling the Proximity of the Poor: Patterns of Micro-Segregation in Naples’ Upper-Class Areas | 4:50–5:10 p.m. | 10:50–11:10 a.m. |
| Q&A Session | 5:10–5:15 p.m. | 11:10–11:15 a.m. |
| Dr. Robert Musil & Jiannis Kaucic Housing Market Segmentation as a Driver of Urban Micro-Segregation? An In-Depth Analysis of Two Viennese Districts | 5:15–5:35 p.m. | 11:15–11:35 a.m. |
| Q&A Session | 5:35–5:40 p.m. | 11:35–11:40 a.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Sainan Lin (Chair) Discussion | 5:40–5:55 p.m. | 11:40–11:55 a.m. |
| Prof. Dr. Sainan Lin (Chair) Closing of Webinar | 5:55–6:00 p.m. | 11:55–12:00 p.m. |
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we will let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Webinar Chairs and Keynote Speakers:
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Maloutas, National Centre for Social Research & Harokopio University, Greece;
- Prof. Dr. Sainan Lin, Wuhan University, China;
- Prof. Dr. John Logan, Brown University, USA;
- Prof. Karin Grundström, Malmö University, Sweden;
- Prof. Christine Lelévrier, Université Paris-Est Créteil, France;
- Dr. Thomas Pfirsch, Université Polytechnique Hauts de France, France;
- Dr. Robert Musil, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria;
- Jiannis Kaucic, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.
Relevant Special Issue:
“Urban Micro-Segregation”
Guest Editors: Thomas Maloutas, Sainan Lin and John Logan
Relevant Papers:
“Urban Micro-Segregation: Taking Segregation Analysis at the Micro Level”
by Thomas Maloutas, Sainan Lin and John R. Logan
Land 2025, 14(2), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14020255
“Housing Market Segmentation as a Driver of Urban Micro-Segregation? An In-Depth Analysis of Two Viennese Districts”
by Robert Musil and Jiannis Kaucic
Land 2024, 13(9), 1507; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13091507
“Controlling the Proximity of the Poor: Patterns of Micro-Segregation in Naples’ Upper-Class Areas”
by Thomas Pfirsch
Land 2023, 12(11), 2005; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112005
“Imposing ‘Enclosed Communities’? Urban Gating of Large Housing Estates in Sweden and France”
by Karin Grundström and Christine Lelévrier
Land 2023, 12(8), 1535; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081535
16 April 2026
MDPI’s Newly Launched Journals in the First Quarter of 2026
Our portfolio of journals available for publishing up-to-date research in immediate open access format has been further expanded. In the first quarter of 2026, nine new journals released their inaugural issues and three transferred journals released their first issue as part of MDPI, covering the subjects of clinical medicine, chemistry, computer science & mathematics, engineering, environment & ecology, and social sciences & psychology.
We extend our gratitude to the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members who will shape the future course of these brand-new journals. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, ensuring impactful open access scholarship.
Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below.
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New Journals |
Founding Editor(s)-in-Chief |
Journal Topics (Selected) |
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Prof. Dr. Matt Oehlschlaeger, |
AI-based chemical data analysis, prediction, and discovery; AI-enabled chemical reaction prediction, synthesis planning, and retrosynthesis; AI in bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology; digital twins and simulation of chemical processes; AI-powered chemical education and pedagogy | |
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Prof. Dr. Guang Jia, |
occupational hazards and exposure science; occupational health effects and susceptibility; occupational risk assessment and management; occupational health intervention, promotion, and policy | |
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Prof. Dr. Alessandro Miani, |
environmental exposures and health; the built environment and public health; One Health approach; environmental justice and health equity; environmental policies and interventions | |
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Prof. Dr. Miriam H. A. Bopp, |
neuroimaging technology and tool; multimodal neuroimaging integration and analysis; |
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Prof. Dr. Raul A. Urrutia, |
personalized translational and clinical oncology research that contribute to a deeper understanding of cancer diagnoses, prognoses, prevention, and treatment specifically for individual patients | |
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Prof. Dr. Pierre Boulanger, |
AI in disease detection, diagnosis, prediction, and treatment; medical informatics; AI in genomics and precision medicine; AI in drug discovery and development; |
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Prof. Dr. Zhaokui Wang, |
astrodynamics; spacecraft technology; satellite technology; space transportation; space vehicle design, propulsion, and avionics; space energy, power and propulsion | |
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Prof. Dr. Richard J Hauer, |
park design, planning, and evaluation; park and art; park, industrialization, urbanization, and civilization; park and education; park and smart society; park role in SDGs; park services for humans | |
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Prof. Dr. Stacey L. Connaughton, |
conflict resolution; peacebuilding; peacemaking; mediation, reconciliation, and transitional justice; sustaining peace | |
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Transferred Journals |
Editor(s)-in-Chief |
Journal Topics (Selected) |
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Prof. Dr. Gianluigi Vendemiale, |
physiology and pathology of aging; biogerontology; epidemiology; clinical geriatrics; pharmacology; geriatric nursing | |
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Prof. Dr. Michele Maffia, |
cellular and developmental biology; physiology, pathophysiology and endocrinology; diagnostic tools, therapies and public health | |
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Dr. Warren S. Joseph, |
foot and ankle medicine; podiatric medicine | |
We would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you would like to create a new journal, you are welcome to send an application here or contact the New Journal Committee (newjournal-committee@mdpi.com).
16 April 2026
Meet Us at the Chinese Grassland Society 2026 Annual Conference, 17–19 April 2026, Beijing, China
