Karst Environment and Global Change—Second Edition

Abstract submission deadline

closed (16 April 2026)

Manuscript submission deadline

closed (16 June 2026)

Viewed by

2321

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Topic titled “Karst Environment and Global Change—Second Edition”. Karst areas are some of the world’s major ecologically fragile zones, accounting for 12% of the global land area and affecting the productive lives of 1.8 billion people. In particular, the East Asian karst region, centered on the Guizhou Plateau, is the largest and most concentrated contiguous ecologically fragile area in the world, covering an area of over 550,000 square kilometers, and is also the one with the most typical and complex karst development as well as the richest landscape types. The special ecological environment has multifaceted effects on natural, economic, and social development: on the one hand, karst regions are rich in mineral and medicinal resources; on the other, due to the special karst geological background, coupled with the increasingly harsh human–land conflict relationship, they are increasingly affected by the interaction of multiple layers from the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. As a result, ecological problems, such as rock desertification, heavy metal pollution, diminishing biodiversity, and the irrational exploitation of mineral as well as medicinal resources, have emerged. At the same time, the Earth has experienced dramatic climate change in recent years, which may have a significant impact on karst ecological patterns, service functions, and sustainable development. However, uncertainties remain about the variability of karst environments and how they will respond to global change. Therefore, the aim of this topic is to discuss cutting-edge and hot issues, new techniques and methods, and new findings in this field on the topic of karst environments and global change, including various formats such as reviews, research papers, and datasets; contributions from experts and scholars in related fields are also welcome. Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Karst ecosystem assessment (including stone desertification, soil erosion, soil formation rates, etc.);
• Carbon cycling, storage, and sinks in karst ecosystems;
• Biodiversity, ecosystem processes, ecosystem services, and climate change;
• Spatial and temporal dynamics of vegetation (productivity, greenness, vegetation cover, leaf area index, phenology, etc.) in response to climate change and human activities;
• Carbon sequestration, carbon emissions, carbon efficiency, and low-carbon mitigation policies in karst ecosystems.

Prof. Dr. Xiaoyong Bai
Prof. Dr. Yongjun Jiang
Prof. Dr. Jian Ni
Prof. Dr. Xubo Gao
Prof. Dr. Yuemin Yue
Prof. Dr. Jiangbo Gao
Prof. Dr. Junbing Pu
Dr. Hu Ding
Dr. Qiong Xiao
Prof. Dr. Zhicai Zhang
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Atmosphere atmosphere	2.6	5.4	2010	19.7 Days	CHF 2400
Forests forests	3.1	5.4	2010	16.8 Days	CHF 2600
Geosciences geosciences	2.3	4.4	2011	23.6 Days	CHF 1800
Hydrology hydrology	3.1	6.0	2014	17.9 Days	CHF 1800
Land land	3.5	6.4	2012	17.5 Days	CHF 2600
Remote Sensing remotesensing	4.3	9.4	2009	24.3 Days	CHF 2700
Sustainability sustainability	4.1	8.9	2009	17.9 Days	CHF 2400

Preprints.org is a multidisciplinary platform offering a preprint service designed to facilitate the early sharing of your research. It supports and empowers your research journey from the very beginning.

MDPI Topics is collaborating with Preprints.org and has established a direct connection between MDPI journals and the platform. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity by posting their preprints at Preprints.org prior to publication:

1. Share your research immediately: disseminate your ideas prior to publication and establish priority for your work.
2. Safeguard your intellectual contribution: Protect your ideas with a time-stamped preprint that serves as proof of your research timeline.
3. Boost visibility and impact: Increase the reach and influence of your research by making it accessible to a global audience.
4. Gain early feedback: Receive valuable input and insights from peers before submitting to a journal.
5. Ensure broad indexing: Web of Science (Preprint Citation Index), Google Scholar, Crossref, SHARE, PrePubMed, Scilit and Europe PMC.

Related Topic

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results

Content type Publication Date

Result details

Normal Extended Compact

Journals

All Atmosphere Forests Geosciences Hydrology Land Remote Sensing Sustainability

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

29 pages, 11748 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Multi-Scenario Projections of Habitat Quality in a Karst Cascade-Hydropower Basin: An Integrated InVEST–IntPLUS–OPGD Framework

by Penghui Dong, Jiyi Gong, Yin Yi, Shengtian Yang, Changde He, Renhui Zuo and Taohao Xiong

Land 2026, 15(3), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15030363 - 24 Feb 2026

Viewed by 725

Abstract

Southwest China’s karst region has developed a dam- and reservoir-dense pattern in which cascaded hydropower on mainstem rivers coexists with small hydropower on tributaries, forming a foundation for the region’s low-carbon energy supply. Under China’s “dual-carbon” targets and a strengthening ecological civilization agenda, [...] Read more.

Southwest China’s karst region has developed a dam- and reservoir-dense pattern in which cascaded hydropower on mainstem rivers coexists with small hydropower on tributaries, forming a foundation for the region’s low-carbon energy supply. Under China’s “dual-carbon” targets and a strengthening ecological civilization agenda, it is urgent to clarify the mechanisms driving habitat quality (HQ) change under compound disturbances from cascaded hydropower, urbanization, and related pressures—especially the nonlinear pathway through which engineering disturbance propagates to ecological responses via land-use restructuring. To address this need, we develop a Cascade disturbance–Land restructuring–Habitat response chain framework and integrate an InVEST–IntPLUS–OPGD modeling approach to capture HQ dynamics in the Wujiang River Basin (1980–2020), attribute the interactive effects of coupled natural–social drivers, and project ecological responses under alternative 2035 scenarios. Results show that: (1) The basin maintained a stable ecological matrix, with forest land and cropland consistently >82.5% and forest cover near 50%, while construction land increased by 972.15 km² and water bodies by 354.23 km² (2) Mean HQ stayed high and declined by only 1.42%, with high and medium–high HQ dominating (>65%). HQ degradation is concentrated in urban expansion areas and reservoir shorelines, whereas most mountainous/forested regions remain stable; and (3) HQ spatial differentiation is mainly shaped by the synergy between forest structure and NDVI, while nonlinear urbanization edge effects impose stronger stress than hydropower development itself. Scenario simulations further indicate that a water protection pathway can enhance HQ by building integrated “water–forest” corridors that promote blue–green synergy. Overall, this study supports improved trade-off design between energy supply and ecological protection in vulnerable karst regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Karst Environment and Global Change—Second Edition)

►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Plain Text BibTeX BibTeX (without abstracts) Endnote Endnote (without abstracts) Tab-delimited RIS

 

Error

Oops... you haven't selected anything for export.

Ok

clear

Displaying articles 1-1