Sustainable Solutions for Land Degradation and Its Socio-Economic Impact in Rural and Peri-Urban Areas: Looking Back and into the Future

Dear Colleagues,

It is essential to find sustainable solutions for land degradation in rural and peri-urban areas if we are to protect the environment, promote economic expansion, and guarantee community well-being. By implementing sustainable land management practices, it is possible to reduce land degradation and its socio-economic impact.

There are many advantages to sustainable land management. It strengthens resilience to shocks, increases productivity, decreases poverty, and improves the health of the soil, which benefits rural communities’ access to food, money, and quality of life.

This Special Issue aims to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to give insights into the fight against desertification and land degradation, which endanger the livelihoods and food security of millions of people, particularly in drylands. In the context of climate change, addressing land degradation is essential since it both influences and contributes to the phenomenon. Practices for sustainable land management are essential in the fight against land degradation and its effects on the socioeconomic system. Putting these practices into action makes it feasible to protect land resources, foster economic expansion, enhance living conditions, and guarantee environmental sustainability.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Sustainable solutions against land degradation;
• Land management practices;
• Reducing land degradation and its socio-economic impact;
• Food security for rural and peri-urban areas;
• Protecting land resources against climate change.

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

Prof. Dr. James Gambiza
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 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.