Over the last 10 to 15 years, bioeconomy (BE) has evolved to a widely accepted alternative to the dominant use of finite raw materials around the globe. One of the essential prerequisites for the sustainable implementation of this future-oriented economic system is the consideration of spatial framework conditions. This review assesses whether spatial aspects are addressed in the scientific discourse on the bioeconomy. Between 2010 to 2021, 8812 articles were published dealing with the thematic field of bioeconomy.

The accelerated urbanization process has resulted in increasingly prominent conflicts in land resource utilization and caused numerous ecological and environmental issues. Simulating the evolutionary patterns of land use conflicts (LUCs) is the foundation for promoting sustainable land use. The Markov and GeoSOS-FLUS models were used to predict the land use patterns under three different development scenarios, and to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of LUCs in Xiamen, China in 2030.

In the digital era, the contradiction between regional urban development and land ecological protection is still prominent. Clarifying the relationship and internal interaction logic among digital economy (DE), new-type urbanization (NU), and land ecology (LE) is of great significance to the region’s sustainable development. Based on theoretical analysis, this study examines the relationship among DE, NU, and LE in the Yangtze River Delta through spatial analysis and empirical test with the city data from 2011 to 2020.

The rapid development of megacities has greatly impacted land use in the urban–rural fringe area. The Western Protected Area defined by Chengdu’s Master Plan (2016–2035) to end the unrestrained urban sprawl, where locates the most superior agricultural and ecological resources, namely Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Essence Irrigation District, is facing great challenges when implementing protective strategies, related to huge land use competition caused by land multi-functionality.

Drought impacts on food security, land degradation and rates of biodiversity loss. Here, we aimed to investigate selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) influenced plant resilience to drought using the morphological, physiological, and essential oil (EO) quantity and quality of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) as drought proxies. Treatments included irrigation at 100% field capacity (FC100) as no stress, 80% FC as moderate water stress (FC80) and 60% FC as severe water stress (FC60), together with application of Se NPs at either 0 mg L−1 (control), 50 mg L−1, or 100 mg L−1.

Land degradation and climate change are among the main threats to the sustainability of ecosystems worldwide. As a result, the restoration of degraded landscapes is essential to maintaining the functionality of ecosystems, especially those with greater social, economic, and environmental vulnerability. Nevertheless, policymakers are frequently challenged by deciding where to prioritize restoration actions, which usually includes dealing with multiple and complex needs under an always limited budget.

Rainfed agriculture in Northern Darfur is influenced by erratic seasonal and decadal rainfall patterns and frequent droughts. Understanding the spatio-temporal variation in rainfed agriculture is crucial for promoting food security, socio-economic stability and protecting the vulnerable ecosystem. This study aimed to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of rainfed agriculture in North Darfur State from 1984–2019 using multitemporal Landsat observation data.

The influx of nearly a million refugees from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in August 2017 put significant pressure on the regional landscape leading to land degradation due to biomass removal to provide shelter and fuel energy and posed critical challenges for both host and displaced population. This article emphasizes geospatial applications at different stages of addressing land degradation in Cox’s Bazar.

Soil erosion is an important environmental problem that can have various negative consequences, such as land degradation, which affects sustainable development and agricultural production, especially in developing countries like Tunisia. Moreover, soil erosion is a major problem around the world because of its effects on soil fertility by nutriment loss and siltation in water bodies. Apart from this, soil erosion by water is the most serious type of land loss in several regions both locally and globally.

The introduction of modern bioenergy alternatives is promoted to address water–energy–food (WEF) security in the rural highlands of Ethiopia. While the role of women in WEF security is an essential component of these challenges, gender dimensions remain invisible in the nexus debate. This study explores the impact of gender-specific roles between female- and male-headed households on the nexus resources in the rural highlands of Ethiopia using an agent-based modeling approach.

Soil erosion is a global environmental problem and a pervasive form of land degradation that threatens land productivity and food and water security. Some of the biggest sources of sediment in catchments are cultivated and abandoned lands. However, the abandonment of cultivated fields is not well-researched. Our study assesses the level of degradation in cultivated and abandoned lands using a case study in South Africa. We answer three main questions: (1) What is the extent of crop field degradation on used, partly used, and abandoned fields?

How land is used is connected to some of the most important issues of our time: sustainable development, economic development, reducing territorial inequalities and the rights of future generations, to name but a few. There is growing recognition that a wide range of policies shape how land is used and managed beyond that of land use and environmental planning systems.