Conserving Biodiversity to Safeguard Ecosystem Services: Pathways to Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

Global biodiversity loss has accelerated at an unprecedented rate—per the IPBES Global Assessment Report (2019), over 1 million species face extinction, threatening the provision of critical ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration, water purification, food security) that underpin human wellbeing. Arid/semi-arid regions, tropical forests, and agricultural landscapes—key hotspots of biodiversity—are particularly vulnerable to land-use change, climate change, and unsustainable human activities. Safeguarding biodiversity is no longer an ecological priority alone but a foundational requirement for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). However, gaps remain in understanding the linkages between biodiversity conservation practices and ecosystem service persistence, as well as context-specific pathways to balance conservation with human livelihoods.

The goal of this Special Issue is to compile high-quality original research articles and review papers that advance knowledge on how biodiversity conservation can effectively safeguard ecosystem services, with a focus on actionable pathways to sustainability. This theme aligns closely with Land’s scope—specifically, the journal’s focus on land use, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable development—by addressing practical challenges in integrating conservation into land management strategies across diverse geographical and socio-ecological contexts.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts focusing on (but not limited to) the following themes:

1. Mechanisms linking biodiversity loss/gain to changes in key ecosystem services (e.g., carbon storage, pollination, soil fertility).
2. Climate-resilient biodiversity conservation strategies for vulnerable landscapes (arid zones, tropical forests, agricultural lands).
3. Community and Indigenous-led approaches to balancing biodiversity conservation and livelihood sustainability.
4. Effectiveness of policy instruments (e.g., protected areas, payment for ecosystem services, biodiversity offsets) in safeguarding ecosystem services.
5. Technological innovations (e.g., remote sensing, ecological modeling) for monitoring biodiversity-ecosystem service relationships.
6. Cross-scale (local to global) collaboration and governance for transboundary biodiversity conservation.

We invite original research articles (presenting new data or analyses) and systematic reviews/meta-analyses (synthesizing existing evidence) that address the above themes.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Anwar Eziz
Dr. Marco Campera
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-anonymized 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.