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Geographies
Special Issues
Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World
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Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World

A special issue of Geographies (ISSN 2673-7086).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 4509

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Karoly Nemeth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
2. Saudi Geological Survey, National Program of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3. Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science, Lithosphere Research Group, Sopron, Hungary
4. The Geoconservation Trust Aoteroa Pacific, Opotiki, New Zealand
Interests: volcano geology; volcano geomorphology; explosive volcanism; hydrovolcanism; volcaniclastic sedimentation; sedimentology; social geology; geoheritage; geoconservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Geographies (MDPI) is launching a Special Issue to mark its inclusion in the Web of Science journal citation platform and the receipt of its first impact factor and high ranking within the field of geography. Over the past century, the discipline of geography has undergone significant changes, evolving from an intersection of the exact and social sciences into a prominent research area for spatial information across a wide range of topics. Modern geography differs greatly from that of previous eras, with its research now serving as a major source of information for addressing complex societal issues related to global and planetary changes, climate change, biodiversity and habitat loss, and aspects of human–environment interactions.

In the rapidly changing landscape of geographic research, studies now cover a broad spectrum of subjects. Geography increasingly analyzes current surface processes with implications that extend to multiple time scales, offering new research directions, including philosophical considerations. The field now integrates advanced technologies into traditional knowledge and social geosciences, exploring the connections between humans, societies, and place.

Measuring abstract and emotional aspects of geography, including the importance of the sense of place, requires innovative approaches combining technology and social science in a transdisciplinary framework. As society encounters ongoing challenges, geography is positioned as an important discipline for supporting societal resilience and understanding the relationship between the geosphere, biosphere, and human communities. Given this background, we invite authors to submit manuscripts reflecting the transdisciplinary character of geography. The aim of this Issue is to collect research demonstrating how geography can be redefined for the future and continue to develop alongside other core scientific fields.

Prof. Dr. Karoly Nemeth
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. Geographies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1200 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

  • geomorphosites
  • geoheritage
  • geodiversity
  • terrain analysis
  • GIS
  • geosystem services
  • sense of place

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 54224 KB  
Article
Counter-Mapping Informal Settlements: Participatory Cadastral Surveys and Land Governance in the Santa Luzia Community, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
by Louise Gil Soares Ferreira, Samir de Souza Oliveira Alves, Leonardo Vieira Barbalho, Giselle Megumi Martino Tanaka, Jonatas Goulart Marinho Falcão, Yara Vieira Lopes, Andrew Santana da Silva, Auzenan Pereira de Sá, Fernando Dias de Almeida Barros, Francisco Airasca Altónaga, Luiz Felipe de Almeida Furtado and Luiz Carlos Teixeira Coelho
Geographies 2026, 6(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6020058 - 1 Jun 2026
Viewed by 278
Abstract
In Brazil, approximately 16.4 million people (8.1% of the population) live in informal settlements (favelas), with Rio de Janeiro among the most heavily affected. This situation results from rapid rural–urban migration and unplanned urbanization, leading to persistent land tenure conflicts, exemplified by the [...] Read more.
In Brazil, approximately 16.4 million people (8.1% of the population) live in informal settlements (favelas), with Rio de Janeiro among the most heavily affected. This situation results from rapid rural–urban migration and unplanned urbanization, leading to persistent land tenure conflicts, exemplified by the decades-long struggle in the Santa Luzia favela. This study demonstrates how participatory geospatial methodologies can support land regularization while preventing displacement. Unlike conventional participatory mapping studies that often prioritize community empowerment over technical precision or, conversely, state-led cadastres that prioritize accuracy over local participation, this study integrates two complementary frameworks: counter-cartographies (to redress power asymmetries) and fit-for-purpose land administration (to ensure minimal technical standards for tenure security). Through a university–community collaboration, a low-cost cadastral survey of Santa Luzia was conducted using remotely piloted aircraft photogrammetry to generate high-resolution orthoimagery (2 cm ground sample distance), GIS vectorization integrated with resident interviews and local knowledge, and spatial analysis compliant with local technical standards. The findings demonstrate three specific innovations: (1) methodological: volunteer students and community residents co-produced cartography achieving 2 cm precision, meeting legal requirements for land regularization without expensive professional surveys; (2) participatory: unlike purely community-led mapping that may lack legal enforceability or top-down systems that exclude local knowledge, this model embeds participatory data collection within Brazil’s Social Interest Regularization (REURB-S) framework, ensuring both grassroots legitimacy and state recognition; and (3) policy-making: the project operationalizes counter-cartographies not as symbolic resistance but as a legally compliant pathway to tenure security, offering a transferable model for democratizing land administration in informal settlements while challenging exclusionary urban planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
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25 pages, 30787 KB  
Article
Cluster Analysis for Different Physiognomies and Spatiotemporal Patterns from Vegetation Indices in São Paulo State
by Francisco Javier Tipan Salazar, Carla Rodrigues Santos, Fernanda Beatriz Jordan Rojas Dallaqua and Bruno Schultz
Geographies 2026, 6(2), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6020046 - 2 May 2026
Viewed by 533
Abstract
Multi-temporal orbital satellite imagery is an alternative for measuring behavioral patterns or trends in different physiognomies through vegetation indices (VIs) and Spectral Linear Mixture Models (SLMMs). In this study, time series of Landsat 7/8/9 and Sentinel-2 have been used to classify a considerable [...] Read more.
Multi-temporal orbital satellite imagery is an alternative for measuring behavioral patterns or trends in different physiognomies through vegetation indices (VIs) and Spectral Linear Mixture Models (SLMMs). In this study, time series of Landsat 7/8/9 and Sentinel-2 have been used to classify a considerable quantity of areas spread over the São Paulo state from 2021 to 2024. Because the large amount of samples considered in our analysis, self-organizing maps (SOMs) have been applied as a convenient method to group similar satellite image time series samples with respect to a certain vegetation index or green vegetation fraction (VEG). Since every dataset area belongs to different types of physiognomies, each cluster has been labeled according to the plurality technique. Additionally, we obtained the mean spectral behavior of the VIs and VEG in the 2021–2024 seasonal cycle of all samples. The results showed similar variations from the rainy to the dry season for most of the physiognomies. On the other hand, this research indicates that the proposed method for classification the Brazilian areas spread over the São Paulo state is consistently good, obtaining the best performance (quantization error) associated with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
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34 pages, 4136 KB  
Article
Ecosystems as Organisms in Spectral Space: Landscape Corrosion Revealed by Unreliable Classification Zones
by Hanna Tutova, Olena Lisovets, Olha Kunakh and Olexander Zhukov
Geographies 2026, 6(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6010033 - 16 Mar 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 602
Abstract
Catastrophic disturbances pose significant challenges to remote sensing because landscapes can change rapidly, while access for field validation is limited, making it difficult to consistently track the spatiotemporal dynamics of discrete land-surface types. Building on the metaphor of the “ecosystem as an organism” [...] Read more.
Catastrophic disturbances pose significant challenges to remote sensing because landscapes can change rapidly, while access for field validation is limited, making it difficult to consistently track the spatiotemporal dynamics of discrete land-surface types. Building on the metaphor of the “ecosystem as an organism” and the individualistic perspective on ecosystems, each surface type is treated as a spectrally coherent entity whose identity must remain comparable over time despite changing conditions. To achieve this comparability, a Procrustes-based framework is introduced to align multi-index feature spaces from different dates to a common archetype, enabling cross-date classification within a commensurable coordinate system. Since Procrustes alignment requires a stable reference, the concept of core pixels (centroid-typical samples in feature space) is extended to spatially grounded anchor pixels that are invariant in both spectral and geographic space, thereby representing the persistent “organismal” structure of the landscape. Regression-based evaluation indicates that the Procrustes–anchor workflow improves classification fidelity and produces a clearer, more interpretable transition matrix of type changes, facilitating the separation of systematic transient dynamics from noisy reassignments. The resulting discrete habitat maps are independently validated using field geobotanical vegetation types, providing an ecological basis for the classified surface-type dynamics under catastrophic conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
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13 pages, 4984 KB  
Article
Fieldwork in Physical Geography: A Quantitative Analysis, Perceptions, and Implications
by Néstor Campos and Adolfo Quesada-Román
Geographies 2026, 6(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6010028 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1076
Abstract
Traditional fieldwork in Physical Geography courses is considered a key activity to fix concepts and ideas taught in class. Unfortunately, it is a complex and expensive activity. Over recent decades, with the advancement and emergence of new technological tools, part of the traditional [...] Read more.
Traditional fieldwork in Physical Geography courses is considered a key activity to fix concepts and ideas taught in class. Unfortunately, it is a complex and expensive activity. Over recent decades, with the advancement and emergence of new technological tools, part of the traditional fieldwork has been replaced by virtual fieldwork techniques. In this study, we analyzed and evaluated the perceptions of the students in relation to the traditional fieldwork, focusing on the reinforcement of the concepts taught in class. After several extensive fieldwork campaigns, we evaluated a group of Physical Geography students through tests, which assessed perceptions related to learning enhancement, skill acquisition, motivation and environmental awareness, and we confirmed that the traditional fieldwork allowed the students not only to reinforce their knowledge, but also to acquire new skills and improve their understanding of the importance of environmental conservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
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21 pages, 6512 KB  
Article
Spatial Footprint of Anthropogenic Activities in the Lubumbashi Charcoal Production Basin (DR Congo): Insights from Local Community Perceptions
by Dieu-donné N’tambwe Nghonda, Héritier Khoji Muteya, Sylvestre Cabala Kaleba, François Malaisse, Amisi Mwana Yamba, Wilfried Masengo Kalenga, Jan Bogaert and Yannick Useni Sikuzani
Geographies 2026, 6(1), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6010024 - 25 Feb 2026
Viewed by 912
Abstract
Village landscapes within an 80 km radius of Lubumbashi (south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo) are undergoing rapid spatial transformation driven by subsistence agriculture, charcoal production, and mining activities. This study analyzes how these transformations are spatially perceived and organized across five village [...] Read more.
Village landscapes within an 80 km radius of Lubumbashi (south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo) are undergoing rapid spatial transformation driven by subsistence agriculture, charcoal production, and mining activities. This study analyzes how these transformations are spatially perceived and organized across five village territories of the Lubumbashi Charcoal Production Basin using an adapted version of Kevin Lynch’s perceptual model. Landscape elements were independently identified by trained cartographic observers and by local community members. A comparison of the resulting maps yields a Sørensen similarity index ranging between 70% and 75% across villages, indicating strong convergence in spatial interpretation despite differences in expertise. Among the perceptual components, districts and landmarks account for nearly half of all identified elements and comprise the most perceptible anthropogenic disturbances. Spatial analysis shows that areas perceived as negatively impacted represent between 40% and 79% of total village surfaces. Deforestation associated with post-cultivation fallow dominates in Makisemu (47.6%) and Texas (64.4%), while woodland degradation linked to charcoal production is particularly pronounced in Mwawa (39.0%) and Luisha (25.1%). Mining-related disturbances, including soil and water alteration, are especially evident in Nsela (24.6%). These findings demonstrate that Lynch’s framework, although originally developed for urban systems, can effectively structure perception in diffuse rural woodland environments when methodologically adapted. Perception-based cartography therefore provides a robust complementary tool to biophysical monitoring for understanding the spatial footprint of anthropogenic pressures at the village scale and informing ecosystem restoration strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geography as a Transdisciplinary Science in a Changing World)
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