Transforming Land Management Through Digital Technologies: Opportunities and Implications

Dear Colleagues,

The field of land management is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by the rapid integration of digital technologies under the auspices of geospatial sciences, particularly geographic information systems (GISs) and remote Sensing, which are revolutionising data collection, spatial analysis, and decision-making, and have become essential to this change. These technologies are no longer peripheral tools but have emerged as core components of modern land management systems, enabling unprecedented efficiency, transparency, and analytical depth. From high-resolution satellite and drone imagery for monitoring land use changes to AI-based models for predictive planning, the digital paradigm offers powerful solutions to persistent challenges in land tenure security, sustainable resource management, and urban development. This Special Issue will focus on cutting-edge research that explores this technical–institutional nexus, critically examining both the transformative opportunities and complex implications of this digital shift.

This Special Issue aims to strengthen and advance scientific knowledge on the application and impact of digital technologies in land management and administration. We aim to publish high-quality, peer-reviewed research investigating how geospatial technologies such as GISs and remote sensing, alongside complementary innovations such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, are reshaping governance and land use. The focus is on moving beyond proof-of-concept studies to rigorous evaluations of real-world implementation, scalability, and socio-economic outcomes. This theme is central to the journal’s scope, which focuses on bridging the gaps between land policy, spatial science, and governance, and providing a platform showcasing research on the most significant contemporary driver of change in the field.

We invite submissions of original research, systematic reviews, and impactful case studies. Manuscripts should be empirically grounded and provide significant theoretical or methodological contributions. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

- Innovations in Land Administration Systems (LASs): Design, implementation, and evaluation of GIS-based cadastral systems, 3D cadastral systems, digital land registries, and blockchain integration to enhance property security.

- Next-Generation Cadastre: Integration of 3D models, digital registries, and distributed ledger technologies for secure and efficient land administration.

- Proactive Land Governance: Applications of AI and multi-sensor remote sensing for compliance monitoring and sustainable land use.

- Remote Sensing for Land Monitoring: Use of satellite, UAV, and LiDAR data to automatically detect land use and land cover changes, monitor illegal activities (e.g., deforestation, informal construction), and support sustainable agriculture.

- Geospatial Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Land Use Planning: Spatial models, machine learning algorithms, and digital twins for urban growth simulation, environmental impact assessment, and climate-resilient land planning.

- Socio-Technical Challenges and Governance: Critical analysis of the digital divide in access to geospatial data, data ownership, privacy concerns, algorithmic biases, and the development of effective regulatory frameworks for digital land information.

- Public Participation and Geospatial Technologies: Research on participatory GIS (PPGIS), crowdsourcing of geospatial data, and citizen science platforms to improve inclusive and transparent land management processes.

- Predictive Planning for Resilient Futures: The role of AI, geospatial simulation, and digital twins in shaping sustainable land use.

- Land as the Foundation of the Smart City: Geospatial technologies for integrated urban planning, infrastructure management, and policymaking.

Dr. Gabriela Droj
Prof. Dr. Jane Southworth
Dr. Anita Kwartnik-Pruc
Prof. Dr. Ana Cornelia Badea
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.

• land administration systems (LASs)
• geospatial analytics
• GIS
• 3D cadastre
• land monitoring
• land use
• participatory GIS
• land use/land cover (LULC)
• sustainable land management
• spatial data infrastructure (SDI)