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Land
Special Issues
Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development
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Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Use, Impact Assessment and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 5658

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xidong Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: global land-cover mapping; land-cover change detection; water dynamic mapping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiao Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
2. International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing 100094, China
Interests: global land cover mapping and dynamic monitoring; impervious surface mapping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yuan Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling, China
Interests: agricultural remote sensing; crop mapping; land cover mapping; accuracy assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

(1) Introduction, including scientific background and highlighting the importance of this research area.

Land cover and land use are crucial for the interaction between people and the environment. How we allocate, manage, and transform land directly affects biodiversity, climate, food security, water availability, and human wellbeing. As global pressures from urbanization, agricultural intensification, and environmental change intensify, land use transitions have become increasingly complex and significant. Understanding these land use transitions and changes—whether abrupt or gradual and permanent or seasonal—is essential for assessing their implications on sustainable development. Many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intimately linked to land systems, including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Therefore, the effective and efficient monitoring of land cover and land use change is critical for guiding effective policies and sustainable land management strategies. Recent advancements in Earth observation, spatial modeling, and geospatial big data analysis facilitate the high-resolution tracking of land use patterns across both time and space. These tools offer significant insights into land use efficiency, resilience, degradation, and recovery—factors central to the achievement of SDGs.

(2) Aim of the Special Issue and how the subject relates to the journal scope.

This Special Issue aims to compile papers (original research articles and review papers) on the interactions between land cover/use change and sustainable development, emphasizing how land use transitions can be monitored, analyzed, and managed to support SDG implementation. We welcome submissions that assess both the drivers and consequences of land use change, using spatial–temporal data, modeling approaches, or policy assessments. This topic aligns closely with the scope of Land, which focuses on land system science, land cover/use change, and socio-environmental impacts. By focusing on land use transitions within the SDG framework, this Special Issue seeks to advance the interdisciplinary understanding of how land use decisions made today shape sustainability outcomes tomorrow.

(3) Suggested themes and article types for submissions.

This Special Issue seeks manuscripts that cover topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • The spatial and temporal monitoring of land cover/use transitions and changes.
  • Land use change impacts on ecosystem services and SDG indicators.
  • Agricultural land transformation and food security.
  • Urban expansion, rural depopulation, and land use efficiency.
  • Land degradation, recovery, and resilience assessment.
  • Integrating Earth observation with socioeconomic datasets for SDG tracking.
  • Modeling scenarios of land use change under climate or policy shifts.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Xidong Chen
Dr. Xiao Zhang
Dr. Yuan Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land cover/use change
  • remote sensing
  • sustainable development goals (SDGs)
  • land use transition
  • spatio-temporal monitoring
  • land system science

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 8094 KB  
Article
Temporal Trajectory and Spatial Heterogeneity of Agricultural Land Change and Its Consequence for Ecosystem Service in the Heilongjiang Region of China over the Past Half-Century
by Zherui Yin, Zexian Li, Lin Shi, Naiwen Zhang, Haiyan Zhang, Baofu Li and Tao Pan
Land 2026, 15(4), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15040563 - 29 Mar 2026
Viewed by 377
Abstract
Northeast China has undergone large-scale cultivation of agricultural land, accompanied by internal restructuring of paddy fields and rain-fed farmland. Such a land change process has an obvious impact on the ecosystem. However, the quantitative effects of long-term cultivation of land/internal structure on the [...] Read more.
Northeast China has undergone large-scale cultivation of agricultural land, accompanied by internal restructuring of paddy fields and rain-fed farmland. Such a land change process has an obvious impact on the ecosystem. However, the quantitative effects of long-term cultivation of land/internal structure on the eco-environment are still lacking in the Heilongjiang region, China’s ecological barrier and grain base. To address this academic issue, the integrated method of land update technology, dynamic tracking, remote sensing classification, and improved ecosystem services were applied using satellite imagery and land products. Through satellite monitoring, the area of cultivated land changed from 127,221.71 to 173,665.12 km2, with an increment of 46,443.41 km2, expanding the central–northern parts and the eastern part over the past half-century. In different regions, all cities have undergone varying degrees of reclamation rate expansion ranging 0.71–29.62%. Regarding the structure, a quarter of the study area was covered by rain-fed farmland (25.29%), but the cultivation level of paddy fields (2.83%) was very low in 1970; after that, only a 13.08% increment in rain-fed farmland but a high increase of 246.14% in paddy fields was monitored from 1970 to 2020. Meanwhile, the source area of cultivated land was 59,271.48 km2, with 60.41% from forest and grassland of the agricultural-forestry ecotone. Its destination area was 12,827.11 km2, and 78.49% of the total was converted to construction land, forest, and grassland. From 1970 to 2020, the evaluated ecosystem service changed from 15,575.87 to 12,495.72 × 108 yuan, showing a total loss of 3080.15 × 108 yuan and an annual turnover rate of 0.40%. An important calculation indicated that the expansion and shrinkage of cultivated land led to a 2303.46 × 108 yuan loss, which means that three-quarters (i.e., 74.78%) of ecosystem service loss was caused by cultivated land changes. Another key finding was that a large transformation of wetland into paddy fields brought about the huge loss of 847.85 × 108 yuan; by contrast, the process of extensive rain-fed farmland turning into paddy fields was only a small change of 3.38 × 108 yuan. Considering the ecological loss caused by cultivated land, the projects of returning farmland to forests and wetland protection should be implemented. This study provided important references for land system monitoring and environmental impact assessment in high-latitude regions around the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development)
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29 pages, 8627 KB  
Article
Spatial–Temporal Evolution and Driving Mechanism of Territorial Space Conflicts in Rapid Urbanization Areas from the Perspective of Suitability: An Empirical Study of Jinan City, China
by Piling Sun, Junxiong Mo, Nan Li, Dengdeng Hou and Qingguo Liu
Land 2026, 15(1), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15010191 - 21 Jan 2026
Viewed by 418
Abstract
The precise identification of territorial space conflicts (TSCs) and their driving mechanisms is key to enhancing spatial security governance. Taking Jinan City as a case study, this research evaluates territorial space suitability across production, living, and ecological dimensions, proposes an empirical TSC identification [...] Read more.
The precise identification of territorial space conflicts (TSCs) and their driving mechanisms is key to enhancing spatial security governance. Taking Jinan City as a case study, this research evaluates territorial space suitability across production, living, and ecological dimensions, proposes an empirical TSC identification model, and employs GeoDetector to analyze spatiotemporal evolution patterns and driving mechanisms. The results indicated that (1) from 2000 to 2020, significant spatial heterogeneity characterized the suitability of production–living–ecological spaces in Jinan City. High suitability zones of production and living space expanded in the northern plain along the Yellow River and central piedmont plain, respectively, while those of ecological space contracted in the southern mountainous and hilly areas. (2) Significant spatiotemporal variations in territorial space conflicts (TSCs) were observed in Jinan City over the past two decades. Intense conflicts dominated production–living and production–ecological space interactions, while moderate conflicts were prevalent in living–ecological and production–living–ecological space interactions. Production–living space conflict zones expanded, living–ecological space conflict zones contracted, and production–ecological and production–living–ecological space conflict zones showed consistent expansion trends. (3) The spatiotemporal evolution of territorial space conflicts is jointly driven by the natural environment, geographical location, social economy, and regional policies. The interaction of driving factors exhibited significant dual-factor and nonlineal enhancement effects. Finally, this study provides some scientific references for the comprehensive management and pattern optimization of territorial space in Jinan City. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development)
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15 pages, 2817 KB  
Article
Impact of Land Use/Cover Changes on Regional Soil Organic Carbon Storage in the Main Stream of the Tarim River from 1990 to 2020
by Yuhai Yang, Yang Wang, Haodong Lyu, Wanrui Wang, Zhaoxia Ye, Aihong Fu and Honghua Zhou
Land 2025, 14(12), 2334; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14122334 - 27 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 590
Abstract
Land use/cover (LULC) type change is one of the important causes of global change and the imbalance of the carbon cycle. Investigating the temporal variation in regional soil organic carbon storage (Rsoc) driven by LULC change is of great significance for scientifically guiding [...] Read more.
Land use/cover (LULC) type change is one of the important causes of global change and the imbalance of the carbon cycle. Investigating the temporal variation in regional soil organic carbon storage (Rsoc) driven by LULC change is of great significance for scientifically guiding sustainable regional land management and facilitating the realization of China’s “dual carbon” objectives. Focusing on the main stream of the Tarim River, based on the LULC data of 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, combined with the data of soil organic carbon (SOC) content and soil bulk density, the temporal variation in the LULC and its impact on the Rsoc in the main stream of the Tarim River were analyzed. The results indicate that the LULC exhibited a pattern of “slow change—sharp change—slow change” across the three periods 1990–2000, 2000–2010, and 2010–2020. Grassland (GL) area consistently declined, while other types of LULC fluctuated during the period 1990–2020. The type and area of LULC conversion varied across the three periods: 1990–2000, 2000–2010, and 2010–2020. The area of the GL and bare land (BL) conversion was greater than that of conversion between other LULC in all three periods. The total amount of soil organic carbon (Tsoc) associated with different LULC types in the main stream of the Tarim River varied in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, with the GL contributing the highest SOC levels, and conversion from the BL to GL had the largest increase in the Tsoc for the BL among the three periods, which was 0.20 × 1010~0.31 × 1010 kg, 0.97 × 1010~1.48 × 1010 kg, and 0.04 × 1010~0.06 × 1010 kg during1990–2000, 2000–2010, and 2010–2020 periods, respectively. Overall, the Rsoc in the 0–100 cm soil layer decreased from 2.18 × 1010 to 2.18 × 1010 kg during the period 1990–2020 in the main stream of the Tarim River. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development)
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18 pages, 16403 KB  
Article
Assessing Land Use Efficiency in the Tarim River Basin: A Coupling Coordination Degree and Gravity Model Approach
by Xia Ye, Anxin Ning, Yan Qin, Lifang Zhang and Yongqiang Liu
Land 2025, 14(11), 2237; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14112237 - 12 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 743
Abstract
The Tarim River Basin, a core region for economic development and ecological security in China’s inland arid areas, faces the pressing challenge of synergistically improving land use efficiency to resolve human-land conflicts under water resource constraints and achieve sustainable development. Based on the [...] Read more.
The Tarim River Basin, a core region for economic development and ecological security in China’s inland arid areas, faces the pressing challenge of synergistically improving land use efficiency to resolve human-land conflicts under water resource constraints and achieve sustainable development. Based on the “economic-social-ecological” benefit coordination theory, this study constructs a land use efficiency evaluation system with 16 indicators and integrates the coupling coordination degree model and gravity model to quantitatively analyze the spatiotemporal differentiation patterns and coupling mechanisms of land use efficiency in the basin from 1990 to 2020. Results show that economic and social benefits of land use increased during this period, exhibiting a “high-north, low-south” spatial pattern, while ecological benefits remained relatively high but declined gradually. The coupling coordination degree of subsystem benefits displayed significant spatial heterogeneity, with an overall upward trend, where composite factors emerged as the primary constraint. Spatially, land use efficiency coupling coordination evolved from “core polarization” to “axial expansion” and finally “networked synergy,” with stronger linkages concentrated in oasis irrigation districts. These findings provide theoretical support for ecological conservation, water management, and policy-making in southern Xinjiang, offering pathways to synergize the “economic-social-ecological” system and promote sustainable development in arid regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development)
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22 pages, 5058 KB  
Article
Deep Water Ports as a Trigger for Ongoing Land Use Conflicts? The Case of Jade Weser Port in Germany
by Roni Susman and Thomas Weith
Land 2025, 14(10), 2009; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102009 - 7 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1094
Abstract
Coastal areas are under intense pressure worldwide because diverse stakeholders rely on coastal resources, and the supply of land is highly limited. Coast-dependent economic activities like transportation and logistics infrastructure in the Jade Bay, Germany, have experienced extensive demand for land. The situation [...] Read more.
Coastal areas are under intense pressure worldwide because diverse stakeholders rely on coastal resources, and the supply of land is highly limited. Coast-dependent economic activities like transportation and logistics infrastructure in the Jade Bay, Germany, have experienced extensive demand for land. The situation is more interesting because national parks encircle the seaport. Understanding the complex seaside–landside dynamics following the development of Jade Weser Port is crucial for promoting sustainability, as massive development exceeds existing spatial capacity. However, a comprehensive framework to assess land use conflicts when dealing with infrastructure development in sensitive coastal areas is often missing. We analyze the origin of land use developments and the planning process at different administrative levels by retracing land use changes from 1970 to 2015 using a time series of satellite images, analyzing planning documents, and examining realized activities. We look for an embedding of transport infrastructure development and its feedback on land use. As a consequence of land use conflicts, these land system dynamics create winners and losers across multidisciplinary aspects. Our findings reflect interdisciplinary aspects which discuss both societal changes and the constellation of inadequate planning approaches to address the complexity of coastal land use. The degree to which these activities cause land use conflicts depends on institutional settings, especially the consistency of ICZM and infrastructure planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development)
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30 pages, 88126 KB  
Article
Landscape Dynamics of Cat Tien National Park and the Ma Da Forest Within the Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
by Nastasia Lineva, Roman Gorbunov, Ekaterina Kashirina, Tatiana Gorbunova, Polina Drygval, Cam Nhung Pham, Andrey Kuznetsov, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dang Hoi Nguyen, Vu Anh Tu Dinh, Trung Dung Ngo, Thanh Dat Ngo and Ekaterina Chuprina
Land 2025, 14(10), 2003; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102003 - 6 Oct 2025
Viewed by 1720
Abstract
The study of tropical landscape dynamics is of critical importance, particularly within protected areas, for evaluating ecosystem functioning and the effectiveness of natural conservation efforts. This study aims to identify landscape dynamics within the Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve (including Cat Tien National Park [...] Read more.
The study of tropical landscape dynamics is of critical importance, particularly within protected areas, for evaluating ecosystem functioning and the effectiveness of natural conservation efforts. This study aims to identify landscape dynamics within the Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve (including Cat Tien National Park and the Ma Da Forest) using remote sensing (Landsat and others) and geographic information system methods. The analysis is based on changes in the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), land cover transformations, landscape metrics (Class area, Percentage of Landscape and others), and natural landscape fragmentation, as well as a spatio-temporal assessment of anthropogenic impacts on the area. The results revealed structural changes in the landscapes of the Dong Nai Biosphere Reserve between 2000 and 2024. According to Sen’s slope estimates, a generally EVI growth was observed in both the core and buffer zones of the reserve. This trend was evident in forested areas as well as in regions of the buffer zone that were previously occupied by highly productive agricultural land. An analysis of Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Land Cover and Land Cover Climate Change Initiative (CCI) data confirms the relative stability of land cover in the core zone, while anthropogenic pressure has increased due to the expansion of agricultural lands, mosaic landscapes, and urban development. The calculation of landscape metrics revealed the growing isolation of natural forests and the dominance of artificial plantations, forming transitional zones between natural and anthropogenically modified landscapes. The human disturbance index, calculated for the years 2000 and 2024, shows only a slight change in the average value across the territory. However, the coefficient of variation increased significantly by 2024, indicating a localized rise in anthropogenic pressure within the buffer zone, while a reduction was observed in the core zone. The practical significance of the results obtained lies in the possibility of their use for the management of the Dongnai biosphere Reserve based on a differentiated approach: for the core and the buffer zone. There should be a ban on agriculture and development in the core zone, and restrictions on urbanized areas in the buffer zone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Cover/Use Dynamics and Its Implications for Regional Sustainable Development)
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