Measuring, Simulating, and Intervening in Urban-Rural Landscapes for Sustainability Science
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Landscape Ecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 October 2026 | Viewed by 598
Editors
Interests: urban-rural landscape; ecological resilience; urban and rural living environment; rural landscape; urban green space system planning
Interests: urban thermal environment; human habitation health; ecosystem services; planting design
Interests: landscape and ecosystem service; urban sustainable management
Interests: multi-purpose innovation and design application of ornamental plant germplasm resources; physiological and eco-restoration mechanisms of ornamental plants; theories and methods for digital innovative design of ornamental plant landscapes ecosystem service assessment and high-quality development mechanisms of urban and rural
Interests: landscaping; urban computing; urban biodiversity; ecosystem services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban and rural landscapes are becoming increasingly interconnected through flows of people, resources, and information, yet they face unprecedented challenges from climate change, rapid urbanization, and biodiversity loss. Understanding the dynamics of these landscapes is crucial for advancing sustainability science, which seeks to balance ecological integrity with human well-being. Recent advancements in remote sensing, big data analytics, and complex system modeling offer new opportunities to measure landscape patterns, simulate future scenarios, and design effective interventions. However, integrating these approaches to address real-world sustainability problems—particularly in the context of rural revitalization and ecological resilience—remains a critical research frontier.
This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research that measures, simulates, and intervenes in urban–rural landscapes from a sustainability perspective. By focusing on the interface between human activities and natural systems, this collection will contribute to the scope of Land by highlighting innovative methodologies and empirical studies that inform land management and policy. We particularly encourage submissions that explore how rural areas can enhance their ecological resilience while adapting to socioeconomic transformations, and how urban–rural linkages can be optimized for sustainable development.
This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:
- Quantitative measurement of urban–rural landscape patterns and ecosystem services;
- Simulation and scenario analysis of land use/cover change under climate and policy scenarios;
- Strategies for enhancing ecological resilience in rural landscapes;
- Integrated interventions for sustainable rural revitalization and urban–rural coordination;
- Multi-scale modeling and participatory approaches in landscape planning.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.
Prof. Dr. Yunlu Zhang
Prof. Dr. Jiaxing Wei
Dr. Chenxing Wang
Dr. Qianqian Sheng
Dr. Ming Shao
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.
Keywords
- urban–rural landscapes
- sustainability science
- ecological resilience
- land use change
- scenario simulation
- rural revitalization
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