Modeling Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation Planning (Second Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

Loss of biodiversity is one of the most serious environmental issues facing the planet. Many researchers are turning to model-based approaches to better predict the ecological effects of habitat fragmentation, climate change, and anthropogenic impacts, aiming to identify conservation strategies that are more effective at preserving biodiversity. Models play a crucial role in biodiversity and landscape conservation planning, areas where various computer programs can be utilized to create models for the issues of biodiversity and connectivity facing these habitats. Once these models have been created, they can be used to evaluate alternative landscape management techniques, spatial conservation prioritization, and future scenario planning in terms of their impact on biodiversity preservation.

Increasingly, conservation strategies and policies for multi-use landscapes are being developed at the intersection of science and policy. There exists a gap between social research and the comprehension of the complexities of actor, stakeholder, and policy participation in landscape planning. In light of these knowledge gaps and the value of geodesign methods and technology for facilitating strategic planning, the use of spatially explicit design scenarios to strengthen the link between environmental dynamics and territorial systems is ripe for investigation. Research articles may discuss a variety of topics related to the integration of biodiversity and conservation planning, such as:

• metrics/methods for quantifying biodiversity;
• mapping biodiversity using remote sensing and GIS;
• numerical models for biodiversity;
• connectivity models and approaches;
• spatial conservation prioritization;
• landscape conservation planning and geodesign;
• examining alternative future scenarios;
• social network analysis;
• participatory geographic information systems;
• agent-based modeling of environmental policies;
• evaluation of community-based conservation and payments for ecosystem services.

Dr. Eve Bohnett
Dr. Eben N. Broadbent
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. 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.

• biodiversity
• conservation planning
• geodesign
• modeling
• spatial ecology
• spatial conservation prioritization
• landscape architecture
• alternative futures

• Modeling Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation Planning in Land (10 articles)