Remote Sensing of Human-Environment Interactions along the Urban-Rural Gradient

Dear Colleagues,

The presence and spread of human activities and impacts are major agents of most environmental problems along the urban–rural gradient. The human dimension of environmental change is ruled by a complex interaction of social, political, economic, and cultural factors that are coupled with growing globalization and global climate change. The consequences of human settlements and actions are altering the properties of natural landscapes, ultimately changing patterns of ecosystem processes and biodiversity. Thus, understanding of human–environment interactions is key to sound urban planning, management, mitigation, and conservation strategies. Increasingly, remote sensing data and technologies are being used to analyze, monitor, and model the impact of human settlements and activities on the environment and the impact of environmental changes on human society in the urban–rural space. Advances in the spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions in remote sensors provide great opportunities to discern discrete patterns, disturbances, trends, and processes, from the macro- to micro-scale of systems of interest. This Special Issue calls for papers that present cutting-edge studies in human–environment interactions along the urban–rural gradient through remotely sensed data and techniques. The following list provides some examples of topics of interest:

• Mapping of urbanized landscapes including but not limited to access to open green spaces, amount of impervious surfaces, and corridors such as road and rail networks, power lines, or irrigation canals.
• Tracking urban growth and natural landscape degradation: area, speed, density, direction, and structure.
• Mapping and analysis of land conversion impacts including rangeland alteration, agricultural intensification, wetland infringement, and deforestation.
• Monitoring and analysis of land use impacts on biodiversity, endangered species, and invasive species.
• Analyzing the impacts of urbanization on air and water quality, microclimate, habitat fragmentation, as well as potential environmental hazards such as floods, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, landslides   and drought.

Prof. Yuhong He
Prof. Qihao Weng
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.