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Advances in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Management Towards Sustainable Development Goals

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 July 2026 | Viewed by 3460

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Emanuel Ștefan Baltag

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine Biological Station "Prof. Dr. Ioan Borcea", Agigea, "Alexandru Ioan Cuza", University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania
Interests: monitoring; data modelling; GIS; protected area management; habitat selectivity; climatic influences on biodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The accelerating loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystem services pose major challenges to global environmental sustainability. This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research, reviews, and case studies that address both the theoretical and practical aspects of biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of ecosystem services.

We seek interdisciplinary contributions that explore the linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human well-being, as well as the strategies needed to protect, restore, and enhance these systems in the face of growing anthropogenic pressures.

Key themes and topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • Conservation biology and biodiversity management in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems;
  • Assessment, mapping, and valuation of ecosystem services, including provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services;
  • Nature-based solutions and their role in climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable urban planning;
  • Ecological restoration and rewilding, including the reintroduction of locally extinct species and habitat rehabilitation;
  • Socio-ecological systems, integrating local and Indigenous knowledge into conservation strategies;
  • Impacts of land-use change and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services;
  • Monitoring and biodiversity indicators for policy implementation and conservation effectiveness;
  • Economic and policy instruments for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources;
  • Cross-border or transboundary conservation initiatives and international collaboration.

Relevance and Contribution:

This Special Issue will serve as a platform to promote innovative and scalable solutions that can inform global biodiversity policy and practice. It aligns closely with international frameworks such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly:

  • SDG 13 (Climate Action);
  • SDG 14 (Life Below Water);
  • SDG 15 (Life on Land);
  • SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

We especially encourage submissions that demonstrate how conservation efforts can contribute to broader sustainability goals and address real-world challenges at local, regional, or global scales.

Dr. Emanuel Ștefan Baltag
Guest Editor

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. 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

  • biodiversity conservation
  • ecosystem services
  • environmental sustainability
  • habitat restoration
  • species reintroduction
  • nature-based solutions
  • climate change adaptation
  • ecological resilience
  • conservation policy
  • sustainable land management

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  • 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.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1527 KB  
Article
Recovery of the White-Tailed Eagle Population in the Republic of Moldova: A Step Forward in Biodiversity Conservation
by Mihail Ghilan, Vitalie Ajder, Silvia Ursul and Emanuel Ștefan Baltag
Sustainability 2026, 18(6), 2722; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18062722 - 11 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1036
Abstract
In healthy ecosystems, large raptors such as the White-tailed Eagle perform the essential roles of predators, bioindicators, and umbrella species. Despite their importance, many species of raptors are globally endangered, and similarly, in the Republic of Moldova, 13 species of diurnal birds of [...] Read more.
In healthy ecosystems, large raptors such as the White-tailed Eagle perform the essential roles of predators, bioindicators, and umbrella species. Despite their importance, many species of raptors are globally endangered, and similarly, in the Republic of Moldova, 13 species of diurnal birds of prey went extinct in the last 7 decades. The White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is the only example of a raptor that has regionally made a demographic and distributional comeback after decades of absence. Following this comeback, a national monitoring scheme during 2014–2025, including a nest counting survey in 2022–2024, has been implemented to understand what the current national situation of the species is and its ecological preferences and threats, together with the fundamental ecological context that allowed the breeding population to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. Field research conducted over 12 years confirmed the breeding of eight pairs, with data indicating a minimum of 19–23 nesting pairs. Pairs generally avoid human-dominated landscapes, preferring higher coverage of wetlands and forests, but current data suggests frequent occupancy of suboptimal territories and increasing tolerance towards human activity and infrastructure. Although currently small, the breeding population experiences high breeding success with no negative outcomes recorded. However, droughts and forestry activities in the proximity of the nests potentially reduced and delayed breeding success. Current forestry and fish farming practices increase the vulnerability of the few known breeding pairs to habitat degradation, poaching, and deforestation. To improve the conservation status of this endangered raptor in the Republic of Moldova, as close as possible to Least Concern status, it is crucial to implement multi-purpose buffer zones around active nests during the breeding season and to further survey the breeding population and assess any demographic trends. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Management Towards Sustainable Development Goals)
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22 pages, 5816 KB  
Article
Construction and Optimization of Ecological Security Pattern Along Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway Based on Self-Organizing Map and Complex Network
by Zichao Song, Minzhe Fang, Jieyu Zhang, Jun Ma, Gang Li, Kaiguo Ge, Yuzong Gao, Jian Sun and Wenjie Shan
Sustainability 2026, 18(5), 2648; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18052648 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 529
Abstract
As one of the most important transportation corridors in China, the long-term operation of the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway may lead to the fragmentation and fragility of the ecological pattern and an imbalance between the supply and demand of ecosystem services in the provinces [...] Read more.
As one of the most important transportation corridors in China, the long-term operation of the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway may lead to the fragmentation and fragility of the ecological pattern and an imbalance between the supply and demand of ecosystem services in the provinces along the line, thereby affecting ecological security. How to construct and optimize the ecological security pattern to address these issues is a challenging problem in the territorial spatial planning of the provinces along the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway. Complex networks serve as the primary approach for constructing ecological security frameworks, and the SOM model can objectively extract ecological source areas from the perspective of ecosystem service functional dimension. Therefore, this study combines the SOM model with complex network analysis methods to construct and optimize the ecological security pattern across seven provinces along the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway. The results show that, except for carbon sequestration, the other five types of ecosystem services (habitat quality, soil conservation, water purification, water production, and NPP) in the study area exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity. The ecological network constructed in this study identified 335 source areas and extracted 334 ecological corridors. A comparative study of three edge addition schemes shows that the edge addition strategy based on betweenness centrality has the best optimization effect, adding 93 new corridors to the original ecological network. The ecological security pattern constructed in this study provides an important reference for territorial spatial planning and for constructing forestry and grassland ecological restoration projects in the seven provinces along the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, thereby contributing to the region’s ecological sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Management Towards Sustainable Development Goals)
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21 pages, 1043 KB  
Article
Assessment of Population Parameters for Fisheries Management in a Pressured Ecosystem: A Case Study of Sapanca Lake (Türkiye)
by Nurgül Şen Özdemir, Erdinç Aydın and Teoman Özgür Sökmen
Sustainability 2026, 18(5), 2322; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18052322 - 27 Feb 2026
Viewed by 437
Abstract
Sapanca Lake is a tectonic freshwater lake ecosystem whose water balance and ecological integrity are increasingly threatened by urbanization, pollution, climate change, and declining water levels. To assess recent changes in the fish community, length–weight relationships (LWRs), condition factors (CFs), sex ratios (F/M), [...] Read more.
Sapanca Lake is a tectonic freshwater lake ecosystem whose water balance and ecological integrity are increasingly threatened by urbanization, pollution, climate change, and declining water levels. To assess recent changes in the fish community, length–weight relationships (LWRs), condition factors (CFs), sex ratios (F/M), and standing stock biomass estimates were determined for eight fish species (Blicca bjoerkna, Scardinius erythrophthalmus, Carassius gibelio, Esox lucius, Silurus glanis, Perca fluviatilis, Abramis brama and Cyprinus carpio) sampled between December 2024 and April 2025. According to standing stock biomass assessments, Cyprinus carpio showed the highest biomass (297.67 tons), while Abramis brama had the lowest (22.72 tons). Most species showed positive allometric growth (b > 3), suggesting generally favorable feeding conditions. In contrast, the main predatory species, E. lucius (b = 2.89) and Silurus glanis (b = 0.21), exhibited negative allometric growth, likely due to limitations in food availability and prey abundance. The CF values were generally >1, indicating good physiological status; however, lower CF values in A. brama (1.18) and B. bjoerkna (1.19) suggest species-specific ecological limitations. Sex ratio analysis revealed pronounced female dominance across species, ranging from complete female dominance (F/M = 1/0) in Carassius gibelio to a female-biased ratio of 1/0.04 in Scardinius erythrophthalmus, likely driven by seasonal sampling effects, sex-specific behavior, and species-specific reproductive strategies. Overall, the results indicate increasing trophic imbalance and ecological stress in Sapanca Lake, emphasizing the need for standing stock biomass assessments and ecosystem-focused fisheries management in tectonic lakes under hydrological pressure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Management Towards Sustainable Development Goals)
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17 pages, 1877 KB  
Article
BioChat: A Domain-Specific Biodiversity Question-Answering System to Support Sustainable Conservation Decision-Making
by Dong-Seok Jang, Jae-Sik Yi, Hyung-Bae Jeon and Youn-Sik Hong
Sustainability 2026, 18(1), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010396 - 31 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 943
Abstract
Biodiversity knowledge is fundamental to conservation planning and sustainable environmental decision-making; however, general-purpose Large Language Models (LLMs) frequently produce hallucinations when responding to biodiversity-related queries. To address this challenge, we propose BioChat, a domain-specific question-answering system that integrates a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework [...] Read more.
Biodiversity knowledge is fundamental to conservation planning and sustainable environmental decision-making; however, general-purpose Large Language Models (LLMs) frequently produce hallucinations when responding to biodiversity-related queries. To address this challenge, we propose BioChat, a domain-specific question-answering system that integrates a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework with a Re-Ranker–based retrieval and routing mechanism. The system is built upon a verified biodiversity dataset curated by the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR), comprising 25,593 species and approximately 970,000 structured data points. We systematically evaluate the effects of embedding selection, routing strategy, and generative model choice on factual accuracy and hallucination mitigation. Experimental results show that the proposed Re-Ranker-based routing strategy significantly improves system reliability, increasing factual accuracy from 47.9% to 71.3% and reducing hallucination rate from 34.0% to 24.4% compared with Naive RAG baseline. Among the evaluated LLMs, Qwen2-7B-Instruct achieves the highest factual accuracy, while Gemma-2-9B-Instruct demonstrates superior hallucination control. By delivering transparent, verifiable, and context-grounded biodiversity information, BioChat supports environmental education, citizen science, and evidence-based conservation policy development. This work demonstrates how trustworthy AI systems can serve as sustainability-enabling infrastructure, facilitating reliable access to biodiversity knowledge for long-term ecological conservation and informed public decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services Management Towards Sustainable Development Goals)
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