Remote Sensing Applications for Environmental Monitoring and Land Changes

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid evolution of remote sensing technologies and GIS has significantly enhanced our ability to monitor environmental changes and analyze land-use and land-cover dynamics at local, regional, and global scales. As climate change, biodiversity loss, urban expansion, and land degradation accelerate, the demand for high-resolution, timely, and accurate geospatial data has become more critical than ever. By integrating optical, radar, and LiDAR sensing with machine learning and AI-driven analytics, remote sensing has emerged as a powerful tool for tracking environmental transformations, assessing ecosystem health, and supporting data-driven decision-making. These technologies play a crucial role in sustainable land management, disaster risk mitigation, and environmental policy development, offering valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals. However, despite these advancements, challenges persist in data accuracy, sensor interoperability, large-scale processing, and real-time analysis. Addressing these limitations requires innovative analytical methods, multi-sensor data fusion strategies, and interdisciplinary research collaborations to further enhance the capabilities of remote sensing and GIS in environmental monitoring and resource management.

This Special Issue will highlight cutting-edge advancements in remote sensing applications for environmental monitoring and land-change assessment. It will focus on AI-enhanced geospatial analysis, novel methodologies, and real-world applications that address pressing environmental concerns. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and methodological innovation, this Special Issue will advance the role of remote sensing in tackling global environmental challenges, such as deforestation, habitat degradation, climate-driven landscape transformations, and unsustainable urban expansion. Ultimately, it will contribute to the continued evolution of remote sensing technologies for environmental sustainability and resilience.

This Special Issue invites original research and review papers that explore the latest advancements in AI-driven remote sensing, multi-sensor data fusion, and environmental monitoring applications. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

• Satellite and UAV-based remote sensing for environmental assessment;
• Machine learning and deep learning applications in land-use change detection;
• Hyperspectral and multispectral imaging for vegetation, soil, and water quality monitoring;
• LiDAR and radar remote sensing for topographic and landscape changes;
• Climate change impacts on land cover as observed through remote sensing;
• Urban expansion and land degradation mapping using remote sensing techniques;
• Integration of remote sensing with GIS and geostatistical modeling;
• Novel approaches in remote sensing data fusion for multi-scale environmental monitoring;
• Policy-driven applications of remote sensing in sustainable land management.

This Special Issue will bridge technological advancements with real-world applications in remote sensing for environmental sustainability. We invite original research articles, methodological studies, comprehensive reviews, and case studies that address novel approaches in AI-driven geospatial analysis, multi-sensor data fusion, and large-scale environmental monitoring. Researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers are encouraged to contribute to this Special Issue, sharing insights that drive forward the scientific and practical applications of remote sensing.

Dr. Krystyna Michałowska
Dr. Ewa Glowienka
Prof. Dr. Eva Savina Malinverni
Prof. Eufemia Tarantino
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. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.