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Sustainability
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Sustainable Development of Land Cover Change and Landscape Ecology
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Sustainable Development of Land Cover Change and Landscape Ecology

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 5923

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Péter Szilassi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical and Environmental Geography, University of Szeged, Egyetem u. 2-6, H-6722 Szeged, Hungary
Interests: analysis of land cover and landscape pattern change using remote sensing methods; landscape pattern as a landscape ecological indicator by GIScience; investigation of geographic factors influencing the spread of invasive species with GIS and satellite images; analysis of the relationship between drouth and adaptation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Nándor Csikós

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Soil Mapping and Environmental Informatics, Institute for Soil Sciences, Centre for Agricultural Research, H-1022 Budapest, Hungary
Interests: GIS methods; landscape metrics; land use change; soil degradation; lanscape ecology; soil sciences

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land cover is the most visible indicator of anthropogenic processes in the landscape. The spatial characteristics of land use and land cover have increasingly influenced landscape ecological and environmental processes in recent centuries. Changes in land cover alter the state of the landscape components (topography, vegetation, soil, surface and groundwater, etc.), sparking complex relationships and interactions between the landscape components. According to the pattern and process paradigm, the change in any landscape element (landscape component) has an impact on changes in landscape structure (composition and configuration of landscapes), and can result in a change in the landscape processes. Land cover (and its spatial characteristics) can be not only a driving force but also an important indicator of the interactions between landscape features. The pattern of land cover (and its change) is an indirect indicator of the naturalness of landscapes and of changes in naturalness. The natural and social processes that cause land cover changes are very complex and therefore require a holistic approach.

Changes in the composition and/or configuration of land cover significantly affect the size and spatial characteristics of habitats in the landscape, and thus biodiversity. Land cover change determines a wide range of ecosystem services, such as vegetation runoff conditions, soil erosion, microclimate regulating or dust reduction functions. The development of geoinformatics and remote sensing techniques has opened up new horizons for land cover change analysis that can support the sustainable landscape planning in urban, peri-urban and rural landscapes. Land use and land cover modelling can provide particularly important input information for sustainable urban planning as well as for landscape structure planning in agricultural landscapes.

In this Special Issue, we welcome publications and review articles aiming at exploring the natural and social causes of recent land cover changes, as well as the landscape ecological and environmental consequences of the land cover changes. In addition to articles on GIS-based analysis of land cover change, we welcome articles on sustainable agricultural land use, modelling of future land use, as well as environmental and social conflicts related to land cover change in different urban, suburban or rural study areas. We welcome articles on land cover change modelling in dynamically changing landscapes (e.g., suburban areas, rain forest), and the effect of climate change on vegetation and land cover changes.

Dr. Peter Szilassi
Dr. Nándor Csikós
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • landscape planning
  • pattern and process paradigm
  • sustainable land use
  • landscape metrics
  • land use modelling
  • ecosystem services
  • urbanisation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 13067 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Urban Heat Islands Dynamics and Environmental Criticality in a Growing City of a Tropical Country Using Remote-Sensing Indices: The Example of Matara City, Sri Lanka
by Chathurika Buddhini Jayasinghe, Neel Chaminda Withanage, Prabuddh Kumar Mishra, Kamal Abdelrahman and Mohammed S. Fnais
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10635; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310635 - 4 Dec 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3567
Abstract
Urbanization has undeniably improved human living conditions but has also significantly altered the natural landscape, leading to increased Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. While many studies have examined these impacts in other countries, research on this topic in Sri Lanka remains limited. This [...] Read more.
Urbanization has undeniably improved human living conditions but has also significantly altered the natural landscape, leading to increased Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. While many studies have examined these impacts in other countries, research on this topic in Sri Lanka remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of changes in built-up areas (BAs) and Vegetation Cover (VC) on UHI and environmental criticality (EC) in Matara cityCity, Sri Lanka, utilizing Landsat data. This study employed the commonly used remote-sensing (RS) indices such as the land surface temperature (LST), the UHI Index, and the Environmental Criticality Index (ECI). Various techniques were utilized including supervised image classification, Urban–Rural Gradient Zone (URGZ) analysis, grid-based analysis, UHI profiles, and regression analysis. The results revealed that built-up areas increased by 12.21 km2, while vegetation cover decreased by 9.94 km2, and this urban expansion led to a 2.7 °C rise in mean LST over 26 years. By 2023, newly developed BA showed the highest LST and environmental criticality, with mean LST values ranging from 25 °C to 21 °C in URGZs 1 to 15 near the city center, and lower values of 15 °C to 16 °C in URGZs 40 to 47 further from the core. The correlation analysis highlighted a strong positive relationship between the NDBI and LST, underscoring the significant impact of BA expansion on LST. Consequently, high-density built-up areas are experiencing high environmental criticality. To minimize these effects, planning agencies should prioritize green urban planning strategies, particularly in high LST and environmental criticality zones. This approach can also be applied to other cities to assess the UHI and LST phenomena, with the goal of protecting the natural environment and promoting the health of urban dwellers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Land Cover Change and Landscape Ecology)
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16 pages, 5007 KiB  
Article
The Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Take Exemplified by Poland
by Bielecka Elzbieta
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031059 - 26 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1443
Abstract
The research was motivated by the growing interest of scientists and practitioners in land consumption. It was assumed that the multifaceted and space–time analysis of the dynamics of land use change reveals agricultural and forest land conversion into artificial areas, and thus highlight [...] Read more.
The research was motivated by the growing interest of scientists and practitioners in land consumption. It was assumed that the multifaceted and space–time analysis of the dynamics of land use change reveals agricultural and forest land conversion into artificial areas, and thus highlight the regions of high human pressure. To fulfill the research objective, the proprietary coefficient of admissible (maximal) land take (aLT) was used. This study, based on open, publicly available spatial and statistical data, presents agricultural and forest land losses in four periods (2005, 2010, 2015, 2020) in Polish provinces. The analysis reveals both the value and the trend of land take and indicates Mazowieckie and Małopolska as the provinces of the highest land take pace since 2005. In contrast, provinces such as Zachodnio-Pomorskie and Opolskie, located in the northwest and southwest of Poland, are characterized by small and decreasing losses of agricultural and forest land, prompting them to be classified as lower outliers. The paper concludes, in part, that admissible (maximal) land take (aLT) is a useful tool for monitoring land conversion and planning spatial development of any region in the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Land Cover Change and Landscape Ecology)
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