Ecosystem Sustainability, Soil Biodiversity, and Environmental Restoration
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil Conservation and Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 29
Special Issue Editors
Interests: prevention and control of soil and groundwater pollution; biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use management
Interests: biodiversity investigation and assessment; scenario simulation; ecosystem service value assessment; biodiversity database and information system development; the protection and evaluation of habitats for rare and endangered species
Interests: soil microbial diversity; ecological restoration; soil health management and carbon sequestration; remediation of contaminated soil
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ecological restoration; biodiversity conservation; land–atmosphere interaction
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ecosystem sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and environmental restoration have become core issues in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in response to intensifying global climate change, escalating land use intensity, and persistent threats of ecosystem degradation. In recent years, significant progress has been made in soil biodiversity research, revealing the central role of microbiome functional networks, key species interactions, and coupled biogeochemical cycling mechanisms in maintaining ecosystem sustainability. Nature-based solutions (NbSs) and biotechnological innovations have provided new pathways for the restoration of degraded ecosystems. However, interdisciplinary challenges remain in quantifying ecosystem service capacity and assessing resilience, constructing conservation networks and migration adaptation mechanisms for biodiversity hotspots, integrating multi-scale biological interaction patterns and functional analyses, and enhancing the long-term effectiveness of ecological restoration measures along with soil health stability. To address these challenges, we need to understand the coordinated response relationships between ecosystem sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and environmental restoration across different spatial and temporal scales, considering both natural factors and anthropogenic activities. These understandings aim to provide policymakers and land managers with innovative and reliable evidence and knowledge for achieving sustainable utilization and protection of ecosystems.
The journal Sustainability specially invites Dr. Tao Long, Dr. Mingchang Cao, Dr. Ming Li, and Dr. Yamei Shao, all researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China, to co-organize the Special Issue "Ecosystem Sustainability, Soil Biodiversity, and Environmental Restoration". This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for exchanging and publishing cutting-edge research on ecosystem sustainability, soil biodiversity, and environmental restoration. Scholars from related disciplines, including ecology, resource and land management, soil science, botany, restoration ecology, ecological modeling, and ecosystem services, are welcome to submit original research articles, review papers, and case studies that build bridges connecting ecosystem sustainability, soil biodiversity, and environmental restoration. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Ecosystem service assessment and sustainable utilization;
- Ecosystem resilience and thresholds;
- Sustainable land use management;
- Biodiversity conservation policies and network construction;
- Soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions;
- Soil health and carbon sequestration capacity;
- Nature-based solutions;
- Ecological restoration of degraded environments.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Dr. Tao Long
Dr. Mingchang Cao
Dr. Ming Li
Dr. Yamei Shao
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
- ecosystem sustainability
- ecosystem resilience
- biodiversity conservation
- soil biodiversity
- ecological restoration
- nature-based solutions
- soil health
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