Land Use Transition and Its Economic, Ecological, and Environmental Effects
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 24
Special Issue Editors
Interests: land use change; food system transition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: land use transition; land use policy; sustainable development
Interests: land use change; climate-induced disaster assessment; carbon sink modeling
Interests: sustainable use of urban and rural land
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Land use transition (LUT)—the long-term, multi-dimensional transformation of land use patterns, structures, intensities, and functions—has become a central lens for understanding coupled human–land systems under rapid urbanization, rural transformation, and climate change. Across numerous regions around the world, LUT is reshaping production and livelihood systems, altering ecosystem processes and services, and generating complex environmental externalities. At the same time, land policies, markets, institutions, and technological innovations are redefining the pathways and outcomes of LUT, creating both opportunities and trade-offs for sustainable development.
This Special Issue aims to advance interdisciplinary research on the economic, ecological, and environmental effects of LUT, with attention to mechanisms, heterogeneity, and policy implications across a range of scales. We welcome therefore studies that combine land system science, economics, geography, ecology, and environmental management, and using diverse approaches such as spatial analysis, remote sensing and GIS, causal inference and policy evaluation, spatial econometrics, multi-objective optimization, integrated assessment, and scenario simulation. We particularly encourage contributions that (i) clarify theoretical mechanisms linking LUT to multi-domain outcomes; (ii) quantify synergies and trade-offs among development, ecosystem integrity, and environmental quality; and (iii) explore governance and technological pathways, including AI, to support evidence-based land management.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Land Use Transition and Rural Transformation;
- Land Use Transition and Economic Development;
- Land Use Transition and Urban–Rural Integrated Development;
- Land Use Transition and Social Restructuring;
- Land Use Transition and Low-Carbon Land Use;
- Land Use Transition and Sustainable Development;
- Theoretical and Methodological Innovations in Land Use Transition;
- AI-Enabled Land Use Transition.
We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions to this Special Issue.
Prof. Dr. Taiyang Zhong
Dr. Mengcheng Wang
Dr. Zhen Wu
Dr. Yifeng Tang
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.
Keywords
- land use transition
- land system science
- ecosystem services
- environmental impacts
- spatial econometrics
- urban–rural transformation
- low-carbon land use
- artificial intelligence
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