In Search of Lost Landforms and Landscapes
A special issue of Geographies (ISSN 2673-7086).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 171
Special Issue Editors
Interests: geoheritage; geoconservation; geomorphological mapping; urban geomorphology; physical geography
Interests: coastal geomorphology; fluvial geomorphology; coastal hazard; floods; environmental geology; climate changes; coastal management; environmental impact assessment; geoheritage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environment; physical geography; spatial analysis; tectonics; climate change; geological mapping; sedimentology; geographic; information system; hydraulics; urban planning
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Toponymy—the systematic study of place names and their meanings—represents a valuable yet often underused source of information for research in geomorphology and physical geography. Place names frequently encode knowledge about environmental characteristics, past landscape features, and natural processes that may no longer be clearly visible in the present-day terrain. Interpreting place names can therefore help to identify and reconstruct “lost” or transformed landforms and landscapes, providing insights in landscape evolution and to the long-term interactions between humans and the physical environment. This Special Issue, “In Search of Lost Landforms and Landscapes,” aims to explore the role of toponymy as a tool for investigating geomorphological and physical-geographical features. Contributions may address how place names reflect evidence of past and present landforms and morphogenetic processes, and may also reveal information about geological features, hydrogeological conditions, pedology and land use. The Special Issue welcomes interdisciplinary studies that combine toponymy with geomorphology, historical geography, GIS-based analysis, environmental history, or landscape archaeology. Papers highlighting methodological approaches, regional case studies, or applications in landscape reconstruction, geomorphological survey, and land planning are encouraged. Together, these contributions will demonstrate the potential of toponymy analysis as an original and effective tool for a deeper understanding of geomorphological dynamics and landscape history.Keywords: Toponymy, Geomorphology, Landscape evolution, Place names, Historical geography, Environmental change, Physical geography
Dr. Andrea Ferrando
Prof. Dr. Alessio Valente
Prof. Dr. Francesco Faccini
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-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
- toponymy
- cartography
- geomorphology
- historical geography
- geoheritage
- cultural heritage
- land-use change
- landscape evolution
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