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Landscape Ecology and Sustainability—the Interface between Natural Landscape Values and Society 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2025 | Viewed by 3062

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Landscape Art, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: landscape and population ecology; ecological succession; renaturation of degraded areas; biodiversity conservation; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Landscape ecology concerns the study and improvement of relationships between spatial patterns, ecological processes, and species communities and assemblages on different scales and organizational levels. The character of a landscape is the net result of interactions between natural and human factors. A landscape and its natural values impact the wellbeing of human society, while human activities constantly alter landscape values. Some of the most valued landscapes were developed as a result of  use by humans over many centuries.

Hence, sustainable landscape management must take into account natural processes, landscape values and human impact, allowing us to connect landscape ecology with social study. Understanding the interface between natural landscape values and society is an essential issue. The proposed SI aims to address research directed toward this interface. Such research may concern the impact of natural landscape values on society and the traditional use of landscape, and their consequences or strategies of active landscape management. There is also room for case studies and studies focusing on modeling.

By highlighting studies on such a topic, the second volume of this Special Issue will provide valuable resources for researchers from different scientific disciplines but interested in the subject area of the ecology and sustainability of landscapes.

Contributions to this Special Issue will include, but not be limited to, the following topics:

  • Analyses of the perception of natural landscape values by humans;
  • Landscape management toward conservation of biological diversity;
  • Studies on indicators of natural landscape values;
  • Agriculture and forestry practices in the context of landscape ecology;
  • Cultural landscape elements and landscape values;
  • Scientific background of landscape audits and legal aspects of landscape management;
  • Sustainable landscapes and quality of life;
  • Modeling of ecology and sustainability of landscapes, including studies on landscape resilience.

Prof. Dr. Axel Schwerk
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

  • natural landscape values
  • landscape management
  • biological diversity
  • cultural landscapes
  • society

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2533 KiB  
Article
Impact of Land Use on Peat Soil Elemental Content and Carabidae and Plant Species Composition and Abundance
by Katarzyna Szyszko-Podgórska, Żaneta Szweda, Marcin Świątek, Joanna Ukalska, Krzysztof Pietrasz, Magdalena Pietrasz, Paweł Wilk, Paulina Orlińska-Woźniak, Ewa Szalińska, Tomasz Rokicki, Sebastian Tylkowski and Roman Niżnikowski
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4420; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114420 - 23 May 2024
Viewed by 1215
Abstract
This study, conducted in 2020–2022, was designed to determine the impact of livestock grazing on habitat biodiversity and Carabidae beetles. Two research plots (a meadow and a pasture) were established on a farm in the village of Otapy, located in the agricultural catchment [...] Read more.
This study, conducted in 2020–2022, was designed to determine the impact of livestock grazing on habitat biodiversity and Carabidae beetles. Two research plots (a meadow and a pasture) were established on a farm in the village of Otapy, located in the agricultural catchment area of the Nurzec River in Eastern Poland. They were located next to each other so that they would possess the same set of atmospheric phenomena and processes shaped by the physical and geographical characteristics of the area. The study showed that the pasture was the richest in terms of the magnesium and calcium contents, while the meadow had significantly higher levels of phosphorus and zinc. The study also showed some differences in the abundance and species composition of plants and animals. The meadow had higher biodiversity, while the pasture was dominated by grasses. A disparity in the abundance of individual species was also presented. The study indicated the preference of individual species for particular forms of land use. Anisodactylus binotatus, Harpalus rufipes and Poecilus cupreus were most abundant in the meadow, while Carabus granulatus and Pterostichus melanarius were mostly represented in the pasture. The number of species, on the other hand, was the same. Our research concluded that proper landscape management through different uses affects plant and beetle diversity and soil element content. Full article
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19 pages, 7876 KiB  
Article
The Structure of Beauty: Informal Green Spaces in Their Users’ Eyes
by Beata Joanna Gawryszewska, Maciej Łepkowski, Łukasz Pietrych, Anna Wilczyńska and Piotr Archiciński
Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1619; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041619 - 15 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1369
Abstract
Informal Green Spaces (IGS) in towns and cities are areas of varied appearance, representing a wide range of aesthetic values. In this study, we have focused on how users perceive such space and which elements match some particular values. Based on the analysis [...] Read more.
Informal Green Spaces (IGS) in towns and cities are areas of varied appearance, representing a wide range of aesthetic values. In this study, we have focused on how users perceive such space and which elements match some particular values. Based on the analysis of photographic images taken by chosen IGS visitors, the technique called Visitor-Employed Photography (VEP), we elicited three primary groups of IGS images, namely landscape, scenery, and special elements. It is possible to define several visual structures in each category, with highly preferable spatial fragments and particular attributes. They are aesthetic prototypes, centers of aesthetic preferences among users of informal green areas. Recognizing proximity to the preference core allows us to define the preferred IGS landscape aesthetics. Based on the data collected, we have concluded that IGS users prefer vast grass areas, dense groups of trees and shrubs, water, and the absence of anthropogenic elements. Full article
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