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Land
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Land Use Change Management: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives of...
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Land Use Change Management: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives of Land

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 May 2023) | Viewed by 6746

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Antonio Gómez-Sal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcala de Henares, 28801 Madrid, Spain
Interests: landscape ecology; agroecology; sustainability; human development evaluation and planning
Dr. Asunción Saldaña-López

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain
Interests: landscape ecology; invasive species; species distribution models; GIS

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Changes in land use are leading to a global polarization process. On the one hand, the urbanization trend does not stop: more than 55% of people are city dwellers and large cities are becoming the most evident manifestation of global change. On the other hand, the declaration of protected natural areas is increasing, with a general target of covering 20% of the land in each country. Between both extremes lies a vast space that often lacks clear development goals and adequate planning. Trends range from abandonment and depopulation to super-intensive agriculture. Within it there is a growing tendency for human uses to decouple from land conditions and dynamics, thus increasing exposure to risks caused by natural and anthropic events. This is also the space where competition between high-impact uses (e.g., energy, intensive agriculture) and (agro)biodiversity-based development (i.e., cultural landscapes, not urban life options) is being raised. Therefore, there is a need for planning and clear development goals. The objective of this special issue is to analyze the trends taking place in this in-between space of uncertain destiny, to identify win-win actions and policies already underway and offer a set of considerations to drive changes towards sustainability and human wellbeing goals.

Prof. Dr. Antonio Gómez-Sal
Dr. Asunción Saldaña-López
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 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.

Keywords

  • Land polarization process
  • Decoupling human use - ecological conditions
  • New development goals for rural and peri-urban areas
  • Land planning
  • High impact land uses
  • Biodiversity-based development

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 13006 KiB  
Article
Thirty Years of Change in the Land Use and Land Cover of the Ziz Oases (Pre-Sahara of Morocco) Combining Remote Sensing, GIS, and Field Observations
by Ahmed Karmaoui, Adil Moumane, Samir El Jaafari, Aziza Menouni, Jamal Al Karkouri, Mohammed Yacoubi and Lhoussain Hajji
Land 2023, 12(12), 2127; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12122127 - 01 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1518
Abstract
Remote sensing (RS) data and geographic information system (GIS) techniques were used to monitor the changes in the Oasis agroecosystem of the pre-Saharan province of Errachidia, southeastern Morocco. The land use and land cover (LULC) change of the agroecosystem of this province was [...] Read more.
Remote sensing (RS) data and geographic information system (GIS) techniques were used to monitor the changes in the Oasis agroecosystem of the pre-Saharan province of Errachidia, southeastern Morocco. The land use and land cover (LULC) change of the agroecosystem of this province was processed using Landsat time series with 5-year intervals of the last thirty years. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) were categorized into five classes, including water bodies, cultivated land, bare land, built-up, and desertified land. The overall accuracy of the MLC maps was estimated to be higher than 90%. The finding showed a degradation trend represented by an increase in desertified lands, which tripled in the ten last years, passing from 20.62% in 2011 to 58.49% in 2022. The findings also depicted a decreasing trend in the cultivated area in this period passing from 174.2 km2 in 1991 to 82.2 km2 in 2022. Using NDWI, Landsat images from 1991 to 2021 depicted a strong association between the water reserve in Hassan Eddakhil dam in the upstream area and the LULC changes. The oases from the dam (upstream) to Er-Rissani (downstream) recorded high rates of decline with an increasing trend of desertification due to drought and overuse mainly of groundwater. The outputs of this research effort constitute a significant source of information that may be used to support further research and decision-makers to manage arid ecosystems and achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), precisely the SDGs 15 (Life on land). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Change Management: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives of Land)
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23 pages, 5768 KiB  
Article
Land-Use/Landscape Pattern Changes and Related Environmental Driving Forces in a Dong Ethnic Minority Village in Southwestern China
by Fanya Qin, Katsue Fukamachi and Shozo Shibata
Land 2022, 11(3), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030349 - 27 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2470
Abstract
This paper outlines land-use/landscape pattern changes and relationships between land-use change trajectories and environmental variables in the Dong ethnic-minority village of Gaoyou in southwestern China. In the study, landscape metrics were applied to evaluate changes in land use and landscape patterns using GeoEye-1 [...] Read more.
This paper outlines land-use/landscape pattern changes and relationships between land-use change trajectories and environmental variables in the Dong ethnic-minority village of Gaoyou in southwestern China. In the study, landscape metrics were applied to evaluate changes in land use and landscape patterns using GeoEye-1 satellite imagery for 2009/2020 and drone imagery for 2019, and redundancy analysis (RDA) was applied to clarify the relationship between land-use change trajectories and environmental variables. The 10–30% change in land use observed across each time sequence indicated rapid development in the area, resulting in increased fragmentation and reduced aggregation. The findings showed efficient usage of land resources in Gaoyou. Accessibility to land tended to govern the characteristics of land-use change, with natural variables influencing the type of development. The results also indicated that farmers responded quickly to government subsidies promoting tea and camellia plantations, unplanned road construction was causing fragmentation, and official land-use map content differed from the authors’ observations. Accordingly, the government should make integrated long-term plans for the development of ethnic-minority villages and engage in remote-sensor monitoring of local land-use change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Change Management: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives of Land)
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23 pages, 1465 KiB  
Article
The Compossessorates in the Olt Land (Romania) as Sustainable Commons
by Daniela Sorea, Gheorghe Roșculeț and Gabriela Georgeta Rățulea
Land 2022, 11(2), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020292 - 15 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1672
Abstract
The compossessorates are traditional Transylvanian commons. They were disbanded during the Communist regime and re-established after 1989 according to the successive laws concerning land restitution. The current article highlights the importance of compossessorates in the Olt Land (in the south of Transylvania, Romania) [...] Read more.
The compossessorates are traditional Transylvanian commons. They were disbanded during the Communist regime and re-established after 1989 according to the successive laws concerning land restitution. The current article highlights the importance of compossessorates in the Olt Land (in the south of Transylvania, Romania) as partners involved in projects focused on the sustainable development of the area. To this end, the paper presents the main features of contemporary Romanian commons, underlines the sustainable traditional orientation of compossessorates, and signals the latter’s difficulty in establishing relations with environmental protection-oriented NGOs, in this case Foundation Conservation Carpathia which focuses on establishing a national park in the area. Consequently, the methods employed to achieve all of the above was the thematic analysis of publications found in the Anelis+ databases which were considered relevant for the theme of Romanian commons, and the content analysis of some normative acts and compossessorates’ by-laws dating back to the first half of the 20th century. The information on the relations between the commons and NGOs were retrieved from the official websites of the organizations, and from the media. The article shows that current compossessorates have social potential and economic efficiency. Their existence in the Olt Land is significant from an identity-based perspective. The latter is built upon the common interest of law makers and locals to constructively manage the forestry fund and respect property rights. Their functioning can be made more efficient. Both these and the NGOs openly state their sustainable orientation and that could contribute to reducing the tensions between them through correct communication. Ignoring the compossessorates’ sustainable orientation and their community prestige could sabotage any sustainable local development project if they are not consulted and invited as partners. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Change Management: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives of Land)
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