Balancing Ecosystems and Renewable Energy in Landscapes

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Special Issue dedicated to exploring the multifaceted topics of "Balancing Ecosystems and Renewable Energy in Landscapes". These territories are characterized by a sustainable and integrated approach that balances energy production, environmental protection, food production and urban infrastructures. These solutions aim to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, limit greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation. The landscapes imply the planning, design and implementation of renewable energy systems, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass energy, within natural and built environments. Simultaneously, their design seeks to minimize the environmental impact and consider the well-being of local communities, sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity conservation. These areas include wind farms, solar fields, hydroelectric power plants, agrivoltaics, acquavoltaics, biogas facilities and other infrastructure that generates energy from renewable technologies. They also consider the integration of renewable energies in buildings located in protected landscapes.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to provide insights into critical challenges, developments and opportunities within the integration of green and renewable energy sources within natural landscapes.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes (including, but not limited to):

• Integration of renewable energy technologies in protected landscapes;
• Energy transition policies and governance;
• Mitigation and adaptation strategies, and design approaches;
• Technological innovation of renewable energy technologies, considering solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass and other emerging technologies;
• Technological innovation on building integrated agriculture;
• Legislative and regulatory framework for protected areas;
• Landscape planning and impact assessment strategies;
• Ecological, social and economic implications for their integration;
• Community engagement and social acceptance strategies;
• Economic evaluation and incentives that foster the transition to green and renewable energy sources;
• Ecosystem services and biodiversity;
• Climate change, green and energy landscapes;
• Balance between green and blue energy;
• Case studies and applications;
• New product developments;
• Food production and self-sufficiency;
• Energy-efficient development in protected landscapes.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Elena Lucchi
Dr. Ján Legény
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 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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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.