Focus on Land Use Cover Changes and Synthesis in South and South East Asia

Driven by population growth, rapid anthropogenic changes and recent economic development, many countries in South/Southeast Asia have experienced land-use/cover change (LUCC) and degradation. For example, the Southeast Asian region has experienced substantial deforestation over the years, particularly in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, primarily driven by agricultural expansion, palm oil production, and logging activities. Additionally, agriculture land use constitutes a vital economic activity in South/Southeast Asia, and countries such as India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are major producers of rice and other crops. Rapid urbanization is transforming landscapes in almost all South/Southeast Asian countries, from India to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, often replacing productive agricultural land. Furthermore, mining activities, including both legal and illegal operations, have increasingly contributed to land-cover changes in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam. LUCC has significant implications for biodiversity conservation, carbon emissions, climate change, and sustainable development in South/Southeast Asia.

Numerous individual studies have been undertaken focusing on various aspects of LUCC in both South and Southeast Asia, however, synthesis studies are lacking in the literature. While individual studies provide valuable insights into specific drivers, impacts, and patterns of LUCC, the lack of synthesis studies hinders our ability to comprehensively understand the broader picture of LUCC dynamics. Synthesis studies play a crucial role in consolidating existing knowledge from diverse sources, allowing a more holistic understanding of LUCC processes and their implications, and providing a clearer and more comprehensive overview of LUCC phenomena. Moreover, synthesis studies can help identify overarching principles, key determinants, and emerging trends in LUCC, facilitating the development of more effective policies, strategies, and interventions for sustainable land management.

The current special issue invites articles on Synthesis studies in South/Southeast Asia, specifically focusing on:

• Synthesizing existing literature, datasets, and methodologies to address key questions and themes related to LUCC within this region, such as forestry, agriculture, urbanization, coastal changes, land-atmospheric interactions, including identifying trends, drivers, impacts, and future trajectories.
• Interdisciplinary and quantitative approaches and integrative insights from various fields such as ecology, geography, sociology, economics, and policy analysis that provide robust and nuanced insights into LUCC processes.
• Translation of quantitative synthesis findings into actionable recommendations for policymakers, land managers, and stakeholders involved in land use planning and management to inform evidence-based decision making and support sustainable land-management strategies.
• Development of effective proactive approaches to land management and conservation in a changing climate.
• Addressing gaps in existing knowledge, informing policy and practice, and guiding future research directions in LUCC studies, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and resilient land management practices.

We encourage submissions from all authors whose work fits with the scope of this focus collection. The collection will also feature invited contributions. All focus issue articles are subject to the same review process as regular articles. Authors are invited to contact one of the guest editors, or the journal team, to discuss the suitability of their work prior to submission.

Please submit your article via our online submission form.You should submit the appropriate article type for your submission then choose 'Focus on Land Use Cover Changes and Synthesis in South and South East Asia' from the drop-down menu.

The target deadline for submissions is 31 January 2025 though we can be flexible where necessary. We encourage early submission where possible, as articles will be published on acceptance without being delayed by other papers in the collection.

All focus issue articles will be peer reviewed in the same manner and to the same high standard as regular issue articles, with the peer review overseen and administered by our in-house journal editorial team. Find out more about peer review at IOP Publishing.

All articles published in ERL are completely free to read in perpetuity, and the journal is funded solely by article publication charges. The standard article publication charge can be found here.

Various discounts, waivers and funding arrangements are available to support our authors; visit our paying for open access page to find out whether you qualify.