Call for papers from IGU commission on Geography for Future Earth
Special issue on Pattern–Process–Service–Sustainability

Special Issue Information

    Most of the Earth's surface is at the service of humans, with almost no place free of human influence. The consequence has been rapid changes in climate and land use. These changes are responsible for major problems, such as the loss of biological diversity and ecosystem functions, the spread of invasive species, pollution, food shortages, declining water quality and supply, and the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Human activities are altering the Earth system and exerting significant impacts on the environment than ever before, and undermining improvements in human wellbeing and poverty alleviation. Research of coupled human-earth systems (or coupled human-nature systems), without doubt, play key roles to secure global prosperity and transform to global sustainability. In order to promote research and innovation in relation to sustainability, and provide a platform for communication among geographers globally，The International Geographical Union(IGU) established a new commission on Geography for Future Earth: Coupled Human-Earth Systems for Sustainability (IGU-GFE) in November 2017. This commission seeks to promote global sustainability, and innovation of geographical sciences.
   

    In August 2018, IGU-GFE hosted one session at the 2018 IGU Regional Conference. The new conceptual cascade of “pattern – process – service – sustainability” was discussed in the session, which is new way to understand the dynamics of coupled human-earth systems, as well as the management policies and practices for improving sustainability. During the research processes of coupled human-earth systems, researchers should diagnose the response of land use or landscape PATTERN change (human activities) on ecological PROCESSES at multi-scales, and identify the ecosystem SERVICE among various ecosystem functions, and reveal the contribution of ecosystem service on human wellbeing. Human activities such as planning and governance are typical adaptations to regulate the natural components towards SUSTAINABILITY.

    Based on the session discussion, IGU-GFE would like to organize a special issue on Pattern–Process–Service–Sustainability. The special issue will be published in Chinese Geographical Science in 2019, and the topics of this special issue are as follows (not limited to):

• Land use or landscape pattern change on ecological processes
• Coupling of natural and human processes
• Ecosystem service evaluation and integrations
• Effects of global environmental change on ecosystem service
• Ecosystem service evaluation and tradeoff analysis
• Simulation of human and nature system
• Sustainability evaluation and sustainable development
• Scale and scaling

    Guest Editors of this special issue
Prof. Wenwu Zhao, zhaoww@bnu.edu.cn, Beijing Normal University
Prof. Francesco Cherubini, francesco.cherubini@ntnu.no, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Prof. Walter Musakwa, wmusakwa@uj.ac.za, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Chinese Geographical Science
    Chinese Geographical Science (ISSN 1002-0063; CN 22-1174/P), bimonthly, is an international journal published in China from 1991. It is sponsored by Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Geographical Society of China, and jointly published by Science Press of China and Springer of Germany. The journal is devoted to leading scientific and technological innovation in geography, serving national and global development, and promoting international scientific exchange. The journal mainly covers physical geography and its sub-disciplines, human geography and its sub-disciplines, cartography, remote sensing, and geographic information systems. It pays close attention to the major issues the world is concerned with, such as the man-land relationship, population, resources, environment, globalization and regional development. The journal publishes original research papers, review articles, research reports, academic activities, and so on.

    Chinese Geographical Science has been abstracted/indexed in:

• Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E)（indexed from 2002）
• Abstracts Journal (AJ)
• Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA)
• Current Geographical Publications (CGP)
• Elsevier/Geo Abstract
• SCOPUS
• Google Scholar
• Pollution Abstracts
• Sustainability Science Abstracts
• Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management
• Human Population and Natural Resource Management
• Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition
• IBIDS
• OCLC
• Gale
• Summon by Serial Solutions
• Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD)
• Chinese Science and Technology Papers and Citation Database (CSTPCD)
• Chinese Academic Journals Comprehensive Citation Report (CAJCCR)

Important dates

• Interested authors should send a 150 word abstract to the Guest Editors of this special issue (zhaoww@bnu.edu.cn or francesco.cherubini@ntnu.no or wmusakwa@uj.ac.za) by 30 November 2018
• Submit full paper via the journal’s site: https://link.springer.com/journal/11769 or http://egeoscien.neigae.ac.cn/ by 31 March 2019