Integrating Remote Sensing, Geospatial Technologies, and AI for Sustainable Land and Soil System Management

Dear Colleagues,

Soil and land systems are fundamental components of environmental sustainability, yet they are increasingly threatened by climate change, urbanization, and intensive land use. The integration of emerging technologies such as deep learning and digital twin modelling opens up new opportunities for understanding and managing these complex socio-ecological systems. Advancing scientific research in this domain is crucial for supporting data-driven environmental planning and resilient development strategies.

This Special Issue aims to present innovative contributions to the application of advanced computational methods for land and soil system monitoring and analysis. This topic directly aligns with the journal's interdisciplinary focus on sustainable land use, environmental engineering, and digital innovation for natural resource management. We welcome the submission of studies that combine geospatial analysis, machine learning, and system modelling to inform evidence-based decision-making. Topics of interest include the following:

• Emerging data-processing technologies (deep learning/machine-based learning) for soil monitoring: studies focusing on the use of AI and machine learning to detect, classify, and predict soil degradation, contamination, and health indicators at multiple scales.
• The application of digital twin technology for the evaluation of land/soil/water systems: contributions that explore digital twin frameworks that can simulate dynamic interactions in complex land/water/soil systems, supporting scenario analysis and decision-support systems.
• Land/land use/land-cover change: articles investigating the drivers, patterns, and impacts of land cover transformation using remote sensing, geospatial intelligence, and spatio-temporal analysis.
• Land system science and social–ecological system research: research integrating land system dynamics with socio-economic and ecological feedback, fostering transdisciplinary approaches to landscape governance.
• Urban contexts, urban–rural interactions, and urban planning and development: papers that analyze land and soil management in urban settings, the impacts of urban expansion, and the integration of green infrastructure in planning frameworks.

Dr. Carmine Massarelli
Guest Editor

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

• AI and machine learning
• digital twin
• soil monitoring
• land use change
• urban planning
• social–ecological systems