Multi-Source Remote Sensing for Terrestrial Vegetation and Ecosystem Services Mapping
A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecological Remote Sensing".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 602
Special Issue Editors
Interests: vegetation remote sensing; SAR; land surface phenology; aboveground biomass; groundwater-dependent vegetation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on terrestrial vegetation and ecosystem services mapping using multi-source remote sensing data, including optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and LiDAR.
Vegetation cover is terrestrially ubiquitous and spatially uneven, ranging from mosses, grasslands, shrublands, mangroves and forests, which provide habitat, shelter, protection and food for various life forms, thereby supporting biodiversity.
However, vegetation is impacted by natural variability and human disturbances, necessitating the monitoring and mapping of the ecosystem services for effective management and conservation. The application of multi-source remote-sensing approaches provides accurate and cost-efficient mapping of vegetation and ecosystem services, particularly for monitoring programs at ecosystem and landscape scales. The advent of AI, including machine-learning and deep-learning algorithms, has extended the capabilities of remote sensing for mapping vegetation and ecosystem services.
This Special Issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research works that apply multiple remote-sensing data collected through aerial and satellite systems, as well as AI methods, for mapping vegetation (including mosses, lichens, grasslands, shrubs, mangroves and forests) and ecosystem services. We welcome vegetation and ecosystem services mapping works from all major biomes, including the Antarctic tundra.
Topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:
- New algorithms and products from UAV and satellite observations for mapping vegetation in desert, grassland, aquatic, forest and tundra biomes.
- Integration of optical, SAR and LiDAR observations for ecosystem services mapping, including mangrove and forest carbon-stock estimation.
- New algorithms for mapping trees and aboveground biomass of savanna ecosystems.
- Application of multitemporal satellite-based optical and SAR for groundwater dependent ecosystems, grassland and invasive plant mapping
We encourage authors to submit original research articles, review articles and short communications related to innovative techniques and applications of optical, SAR and LiDAR for vegetation mapping and ecosystem services. Short communications should address pertinent issues on emerging mapping techniques of high importance to the remote-sensing community.
Dr. Richard Crabbe
Dr. Wei He
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.
Keywords
- image classification
- SAR
- LiDAR
- UAV
- mapping mosses and lichens
- mapping grasslands
- mapping groundwater-dependent ecosystems
- mapping mangroves
- machine learning and deep learning
- mapping invasive plants
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
