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Sustainability
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Sustainable Development and Land Use Change in Tropical Ecosystems
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Sustainable Development and Land Use Change in Tropical Ecosystems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 2080

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Elisa Grieco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128 Perugia, PG, Italy
Interests: forest ecology; forest management; deforestation; climate change adaptation; climate change mitigation; sustainable development; carbon cycle; agroforestry; land use change; climate change impacts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land use and sustainable development play a crucial role in tropical ecosystems due to their fragile nature. Proper land management could dampen the anthropic pressure preserving natural resources, reducing deforestation, and helping to mitigate the impact of climate change. Sustainable practices such as agroforestry, reforestation, and sustainable forest management promote ecosystem resilience and support local communities’ livelihoods, fostering long-term environmental stability and socio-economic well-being in tropical regions.

This Special Issue aims to gather groundbreaking outcomes from innovative research and welcomes studies adopting various methodologies including remote sensing, GIS, modelling, and on-field assessment and inventory resources. Diverse approaches and perspectives are encouraged to deepen themes related to sustainable development, particularly in rural communities living in tropical ecosystems with impacts on land use change, environmental resource management, food security, adaptation, and mitigation strategies to face climate change.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Observationally based impacts of land use change on rural communities and natural resources;
  • Adaptation and mitigation strategies in tropical ecosystems;
  • Socio-economic effects of land use change for rural communities;
  • Nature-based solutions and best practices for rural communities’ sustainable development;
  • Forestry and agroforestry in sustainable land management strategies.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Elisa Grieco
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 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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • climate change
  • agroforestry
  • sustainable development
  • land use change
  • rural communities
  • adaptation
  • mitigation
  • tropical ecosystems
  • nature-based solutions
  • forest management

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 6023 KiB  
Article
How Rural Communities Relate to Nature in Sub-Saharan Regions: Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Wetlands in South-Kivu
by Chuma B. Géant, Joost Wellens, Mushagalusa N. Gustave and Serge Schmitz
Sustainability 2024, 16(16), 7073; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167073 - 17 Aug 2024
Viewed by 763
Abstract
Research on ecosystem services (ES) has become central to landscape planning, framing the relationship between people and nature. In Sub-Saharan regions, local communities rely heavily on wetlands for various ES. For the first time, we assessed perceptions of ES provided by these wetlands, [...] Read more.
Research on ecosystem services (ES) has become central to landscape planning, framing the relationship between people and nature. In Sub-Saharan regions, local communities rely heavily on wetlands for various ES. For the first time, we assessed perceptions of ES provided by these wetlands, focusing on marshes, peatlands, swamps, and inland valleys/floodplains in eastern DR Congo. Fieldwork combined with a survey of 510 households, using both open-ended and 35 direct questions, evaluated perceptions of wetland ecosystem services (WESs). The most frequently reported WES were provisioning (38%) and regulating (24%), while supporting (22%) and cultural (16%) were less mentioned. These perceptions varied across wetland types and among communities based on gender, religion, seniority in wetland use, land tenure, and educational level. Rural communities had a deep relationship with nature, shaped by cultural, economic, and geographical factors. Wetlands are viewed positively as sources of goods but also negatively as sources of diseases. A structural equation model (SEM) helped in identifying four latent variables—livelihood, knowledge, personal, and geographical factors—driving WES perceptions. These findings are relevant for developing wetland management policies and suggest including community engagement and collaboration in wetland restoration and regulatory frameworks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and Land Use Change in Tropical Ecosystems)
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22 pages, 5006 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Deforestation and Water Quality in the Talgua River Watershed (Honduras): Ecosystem Approach Based on the DPSIR Model
by Selvin Antonio Saravia-Maldonado, Luis Francisco Fernández-Pozo, Beatriz Ramírez-Rosario and María Ángeles Rodríguez-González
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 5034; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125034 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 846
Abstract
With increasing urbanization and industrialization, soil and forest resources are facing considerable pressure, as well as the demand for water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities. Therefore, it is essential to conduct regular assessments of water quality and ensure that water is consistently [...] Read more.
With increasing urbanization and industrialization, soil and forest resources are facing considerable pressure, as well as the demand for water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities. Therefore, it is essential to conduct regular assessments of water quality and ensure that water is consistently maintained in the context of ecosystem services (ESs). Our objective was to apply the driving forces–pressures–state–impacts–responses (DPSIR) model to understand the cause–effect relationships and interactions with anthropogenic pressures on deforestation and water quality in the Talgua River watershed and associated valley and plain areas in central-eastern Honduras. Physicochemical and microbiological analyses were conducted to determine the water quality index (NSF–WQI) and other contamination indexes. The results identified high contamination by coliforms, up to 920.00 NPM/100 mL, and high levels of contamination by organic matter (ICOMO, 0.65), solids (ICOSUS, 0.79), mineralization (ICOMI, 0.99), and the presence of bacteria (BPI, 8.50), as well as the development of eutrophication processes (ICOTRO), resulting in generally low water quality. These problems were caused by the socio-demographic and economic growth of the area, as well as the high demand for water, vulnerability to climate change, and intense agro-livestock and industrial activity, which led to deforestation processes, changes in land use, and contamination of natural water bodies that impacted the overexploitation of aquifers. After applying the DPSIR model, strategies are proposed for the management and administration of the watershed aimed at preserving the water, soils, and forest resources, while promoting stakeholder, business, education sector, and public administration participation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development and Land Use Change in Tropical Ecosystems)
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