Application of the Ecosystem Service Concept in Social–Ecological Systems—from Theory to Practice

Dear Colleagues,

Ecological footprint analyses demonstrate that the world's more than 7.5 billion people consume multiple planet’s worth of resources. To incite and evaluate societal changes aiming at a sustainable use of the environment and its natural resources, the ecosystem service concept was developed more than 20 years ago. To ensure the sustainable provision of indispensable ecosystem services the concept has been refined and enhanced enabling application across various temporal and spatial scales. However, evidence-based strategies and policies are needed to preserve biodiversity and the natural capital in a changing world. This Special Issue, therefore, addresses studies advancing terminology, frameworks, concepts, and applications related to ecosystem services assessment with particular focus on social–ecological systems. We also welcome best-practice guidelines and papers addressing the most relevant open research questions and future perspectives in the context of goods and services provided by nature.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georg Leitinger
Dr. Uta Schirpke
Dr. Johannes Rüdisser
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.