Special Issue "Landscape Ecology for Sustainability"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Panteleimon Xofis
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, International Hellenic University, 1st km Drama-Mikrochori, GR66100 Drama, Greece
Interests: Forest Ecology; Landscape Ecology; Applied Remote Sensing; Spatial Analysis; Biodiversity Conservation; Restoration Ecology; Fire Ecology; Urban Landscapes
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Although the need for the sustainable use and management of natural resources has long been recognized, their implementation poses a great challenge to conservationists, managers, and policy makers. Most environmental issues are of global nature, thus requiring large scale analyses and, most importantly, multidisciplinary approaches for developing effective solutions that would benefit both humanity and the environment. The principles and methods of landscape ecology offer a ground where different disciplines can cooperate for a deeper understanding of the consequences of human-induced impacts on the spatial arrangement of landscape elements and their effect on ecological processes.

Land abandonment, as observed in Europe over the last few decades, is a process driven by socioeconomic factors, often with contradictory effects on biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Large-scale deforestation, currently mostly observed in the tropics and also driven by socioeconomic factors, forms the opposite extreme with detrimental effects for the natural environment, both locally and globally. Urbanization, the progressive conversion of humans into an urban species, was followed by a rapid development of cities, often without the necessary provision for green infrastructures, presenting another socioenvironmental issue that needs to be urgently addressed.

All the above paradigms stress the need for reconciling socioeconomic development with nature conservation and environmental protection. In this Special Issue, we seek scientifically sound manuscripts with relevance in at least one of the following topics: (1) methods and approaches for creating sustainable landscapes, (2) sustainable urban planning and design, (3) drivers and effects of land use/landcover change, (4) wildlife conservation and socioeconomic development, (5) historical and contemporary ecosystem services in a changing climate, and (6) landscape fragmentation, connectivity, and their effects on ecological processes.

Dr. Panteleimon Xofis
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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • Sustainable landscapes
  • Urban Landscapes
  • Land use/land cover change
  • Landscape scale wildlife conservation
  • Ecosystem services and landscape change
  • Spatial analysis and ecology
  • Human-Wildlife conflicts

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

Article
Resistance-Based Connectivity Model to Construct Corridors of the Przewalski’s Gazelle (Procapra Przewalskii) in Fragmented Landscape
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1656; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041656 - 04 Feb 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 551
Abstract
Habitat connectivity is indispensable for the survival of species that occupy a small habitat area and have isolated habitat patches from each other. At present, the development of human economy squeezes the living space of wildlife and interferes and hinders the dispersal of [...] Read more.
Habitat connectivity is indispensable for the survival of species that occupy a small habitat area and have isolated habitat patches from each other. At present, the development of human economy squeezes the living space of wildlife and interferes and hinders the dispersal of species. The Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) is one of the most endangered ungulates, which has experienced a significant reduction in population and severe habitat shrinkage. Although the population of this species has recovered to a certain extent, human infrastructure severely hinders the gene flow between several patches of this species. Therefore, we used the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to simulate the habitat suitability of the Przewalski’s gazelle. In addition, we combined habitat suitability and ecological characteristics of the species to obtain eight habitat patches. Finally, we used the least-cost path (LCP) and circuit theory based on the resistance model to simulate the landscape network of this species. The results showed that habitat patches and connectivity in the east of the Qinghai Lake were crucial to the communication between populations of the Przewalski gazelle, and our study provided important reference for the distribution of important habitats and the construction of corridor between patches. Our study aimed to provide habitat networks and maintain landscape connectivity for achieving the fundamental goal of protecting and revitalizing populations of the Przewalski’s gazelle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Ecology for Sustainability)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Landscape Management through Change Processes Monitoring in Iran
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 1753; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051753 - 26 Feb 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 891
Abstract
The presented research investigated and predicted landscape change processes (LCPs) in the Talar watershed, northern Iran. The Land Change Modeler was used for change analysis, transition potential modeling, and prediction of land use/land cover (LULC) map. The evaluation of projected LULC map was [...] Read more.
The presented research investigated and predicted landscape change processes (LCPs) in the Talar watershed, northern Iran. The Land Change Modeler was used for change analysis, transition potential modeling, and prediction of land use/land cover (LULC) map. The evaluation of projected LULC map was performed by comparing the real and predicted LULC maps for the reference year, 2014. Landscape metrics and change processes were investigated for the period 1989–2014 and for exploring the situation in 2030. Results illustrated that the increase in agricultural land and residential areas took place at the expense of forest and rangeland. The distance from forests was the most sensitive parameter for modeling the transition potentials. The modelling of the LULC change projected the number of patches, the landscape shape index, interspersion and juxtaposition index, and edge density, Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance, and area-weighted shape index will amount to 65.3, 7.63, 20.1, 8.77, −1.35, and 0.61% as compared to 2014, respectively. Our findings indicated that the type of change processes that occurred was not entirely the same in 1989–2000 and 2000–2014. In addition, change processes in the creation of dry farming, orchard, and residential classes, attrition of forest and rangeland categories, and dissection in irrigated farming are projected. The dynamics of landscape metrics and change processes combined in one analytical framework can facilitate understanding and detection of the relationship between ecological processes and landscape pattern. The finding of current research will provide a roadmap for improved LULC management and planning in the Talar watershed, southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Ecology for Sustainability)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Article
Impact of Energy Landscapes on the Abundance of Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis), an Example from North Germany
Sustainability 2020, 12(2), 664; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020664 - 16 Jan 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 955
Abstract
The increasing use of biomass for energy production is reshaping landscapes into energy landscapes. Our study aims to analyze the impact of the biogas energy landscape on the abundance of Eurasian skylark. The biogas power plants have a high impact on the landscape, [...] Read more.
The increasing use of biomass for energy production is reshaping landscapes into energy landscapes. Our study aims to analyze the impact of the biogas energy landscape on the abundance of Eurasian skylark. The biogas power plants have a high impact on the landscape, because of the energy crops like silage maize and rape. We analyze land-use and land-cover heterogeneity in connection with this bird species in the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein. Three databases are used: abundance data of a typical farmland bird (Eurasian skylark), Corine land cover, and statistical land-use data from the German Agricultural Structure Survey. Several spatial analyses and statistical analyses were conducted. Generalized linear models are used with model averaging and predicted marginal effects were calculated. We estimate the changes in individuals per km2 by considering six crop types and the Shannon Diversity Index (SDI). The Eurasian skylark abundance has a significant negative correlation with the area of the inland wetlands, the Shannon Diversity Index (SDI), permanent crops, silage maize, and rape. We found significant positive correlation with the pasture, potato, and wheat. The replacement of pastures, Eurasian skylarks’ preferred habitat, with energy crops, mostly silage maize, and the ongoing homogenization of the landscape, negatively affected this species’ distribution in the study area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Ecology for Sustainability)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

Review
Research Progress on Soil Seed Bank: A Bibliometrics Analysis
Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4888; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124888 - 15 Jun 2020
Viewed by 770
Abstract
The soil seed bank (SSB) is a natural bank of viable seeds in the soil or on its surface. Researches on SSB have accumulated extensively worldwide, but have seldom been visualized and quantitatively analyzed. In this paper, publications related to SSB from 1900 [...] Read more.
The soil seed bank (SSB) is a natural bank of viable seeds in the soil or on its surface. Researches on SSB have accumulated extensively worldwide, but have seldom been visualized and quantitatively analyzed. In this paper, publications related to SSB from 1900 to 2019 were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database, and reviewed and analyzed using CiteSpace. Annual publications distribution, co-occurrence analysis, collaboration network analysis, co-citation analysis and burst detection were all conducted. The results showed that (1) the number of SSB publications had increased rapidly and is still a hotspot; (2) SSB study is an interdisciplinary field mainly concentrated in ecology, environmental science, and plant science; (3) close research cooperation occurred among European countries which were more influential, whereas the USA was the most active country; (4) soil seed genetic diversity, seed persistence, seed trait, restoration potential and restoration projects, and spatial and temporal variation were the main research areas. (5) R language and linear mixed effects models are currently popular in SSB research. Invasive species, weed control, restoration potential and restoration projects, seed traits (especially seed longevity and dormancy), and SSB responses to environment changes (especially climate change and fire) are newly emerging trends in the research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape Ecology for Sustainability)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop