Advances in Environmental Remote Sensing for Urban Landscape Sustainability

The accelerated urbanization of landscapes poses significant challenges to the sustainability and ecological integrity of the environment. The transformation of natural habitats into built environments as cities expand substantially impacts biodiversity and alters ecological processes. Remote sensing technology has emerged as a critical tool for monitoring these changes, offering precise and timely data on environmental dynamics, vegetation cover, and land use. To evaluate the effects of urbanization on ecosystem services, researchers can analyze spatial patterns, assess habitat fragmentation, and use satellite imagery and aerial surveys. This technology enables large-scale assessments that are frequently considered infeasible through conventional ground-based methods are enabled by this technology. In addition, remote sensing enables the analysis of long-term trends and informs effective urban planning and landscape management strategies by facilitating the integration of multi-temporal data. In general, remote sensing is essential for the advancement of our comprehension of urban and landscape ecology, thereby facilitating the conservation of biodiversity and the promotion of more sustainable urban development.

The fast urbanization of environments presents considerable difficulties to biodiversity and ecosystem vitality. As urban areas proliferate, natural habitats become further fragmented, resulting in a reduction of species diversity and ecological services. The main objective of this topic is to tackle the urgent need for efficient monitoring and management solutions to alleviate the detrimental effects of urbanization on ecosystems. Utilizing remote sensing technologies enables the acquisition of high-resolution, spatially explicit data for evaluating land cover change, habitat fragmentation, and environmental stresses. Achieving this necessitates the integration of multi-source remote sensing data with sophisticated analytical approaches, including machine learning and geospatial modeling. This method will aid in identifying essential habitats, enable predictive modeling of ecological reactions to urban development, and guide urban planning initiatives.

The scope of this research topic is to investigate the convergence of remote sensing technology and urban landscape ecology, concentrating on subjects such habitat fragmentation, biodiversity assessment, land cover change, and the effects of urbanization on ecosystem services. Contributors are welcomed to explore the following particular themes:

• High-resolution remote sensing applications for monitoring urbanization and its ecological impacts.

• Evaluation of urban heat islands and their impact on local biodiversity.

• Integration of diverse data sources (satellite, aerial, and terrestrial) for thorough ecological evaluations.

• Creation of predictive models to assess the future effects of urban growth on ecosystems.

• Case studies illustrating effective urban design methodologies that integrate ecological factors.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: landscape, ecology, biodiversity, earth observation, earth, land use and cover, urban planning, machine learning, geoai, remote sensing

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.