Call for Chapters: Advancing Ecosystem Management Through Spatial and Statistical Tools: Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and R

Editors

M. D. K. Gunathilaka, Yunnan University & University of Colombo, China
Chaitanya Pande, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India
Khin Yuzana khinyuzana17mdy@gmail.com, University of Mandalay, Myanmar

Call for Chapters

Proposals Submission Deadline: July 13, 2026
 Full Chapters Due: August 24, 2026

Introduction

Understanding ecosystems and their complex interactions is a critical challenge in today's world, particularly as climate change, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity loss accelerate. Ecological networks provide a valuable framework for examining these relationships, helping researchers uncover patterns of species interactions, energy flow, and habitat connectivity. By analyzing food webs, mutualistic networks, and spatial connections, scientists can gain insights into ecosystem resilience and vulnerabilities. This book, "Advancing Ecosystem Management Through Spatial and Statistical Tools: Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and R", serves as a comprehensive guide to applying advanced spatial and statistical tools to ecological research. GIS, remote sensing, and R programming offer powerful methods to collect, visualize, and analyze ecological data, allowing researchers to model species distributions, monitor environmental changes, and assess the impact of human activities on ecosystems. Integrating GIS, remote sensing, and R has revolutionized the study of ecological networks by enabling researchers to work with large datasets and conduct complex analyses. GIS provides a mapping and spatial analysis platform, remote sensing offers real-time environmental monitoring, and R supports statistical modeling and network visualization. Together, these tools allow scientists to develop dynamic models that capture ecosystem processes at various scales. For instance, spatial network analysis can help identify key wildlife corridors that maintain habitat connectivity, while R's network analysis packages facilitate the exploration of species interactions. This book explores practical applications of these technologies in ecological research, from species distribution modeling to conservation planning, providing a framework for researchers to apply spatial and statistical tools in addressing pressing environmental challenges.

Objective

This book aims to enhance the understanding of ecological networks by exploring their structure, function, and role in ecosystem health while demonstrating how GIS, remote sensing, and R can be integrated to analyze spatial and temporal dynamics. It provides practical guidance on applying ecological network analysis to real-world challenges, such as biodiversity conservation and landscape management, with an emphasis on reproducible workflows and open-source tools to ensure accessibility. Additionally, the book fosters interdisciplinary collaboration by bridging ecology, data science, and geospatial analysis, making it a valuable resource for researchers, academics, graduate students, practitioners, data scientists, and educators.

Target Audience

This book aspires to be a transformative resource for the scientific community, including professionals, researchers, research students, and practitioners working in ecology and environmental science. By providing a detailed exploration of cutting-edge tools and methodologies, it empowers users to tackle complex ecological questions with greater precision. The integration of GIS, remote sensing, and R statistical programming offers a unique framework for understanding ecological networks in both theory and practice. This interdisciplinary approach not only deepens our comprehension of ecosystem dynamics but also equips scientists and environmental professionals with the tools to address critical issues such as habitat fragmentation, species conservation, and ecosystem resilience under climate change. Serving as a bridge between disciplines, this book unites ecologists, data scientists, geospatial analysts, and environmental managers under a common analytical framework, fostering collaboration and innovation. Additionally, its strong emphasis on reproducibility and transparency ensures that the methodologies presented can be readily adopted, adapted, and expanded by others in the field. By advancing best practices in ecological modeling and analysis, this book has the potential to drive a new wave of high-impact research and practical applications in environmental science.

Recommended Topics

• Introduction to Ecological Networks and Spatial Analysis • Fundamentals of GIS and Remote Sensing for Ecology • R Programming for Ecological Data Analysis • Network Theory in Ecology: Concepts and Applications • Mapping and Analyzing Species Distributions • Ecological Interactions: Network Perspectives on Biodiversity • Landscape Connectivity and Fragmentation Analysis • Spatial Dynamics of Ecosystem Services • Temporal Trends in Ecosystems: Monitoring Changes with Remote Sensing • Anthropogenic Impacts on Ecological Networks • Modeling Ecosystem Stability and Resilience • Integrating Nutrient/Pollutant Dynamics into Network Analysis • Microbial Networks in Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems • Future Directions in Remote Sensing and GIS for Ecology • Case Studies and Applications in Ecological Management

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before July 13, 2026, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by July 27, 2026 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters of a minimum of 10,000 words (word count includes references and related readings) are expected to be submitted by August 24, 2026, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at https://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-anonymized review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Advancing Ecosystem Management Through Spatial and Statistical Tools: Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, and R. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-anonymized peer review editorial process.

All proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery® online submission manager.

Publisher

This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global Scientific Publishing (formerly Idea Group Inc.), an international academic publisher of the "Information Science Reference" (formerly Idea Group Reference), "Medical Information Science Reference," "Business Science Reference," and "Engineering Science Reference" imprints. IGI Global Scientific Publishing specializes in publishing reference books, scholarly journals, and electronic databases featuring academic research on a variety of innovative topic areas including, but not limited to, education, social science, medicine and healthcare, business and management, information science and technology, engineering, public administration, library and information science, media and communication studies, and environmental science. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit https://www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2026.

Indexing Information for Prospective Authors

IGI Global Scientific Publishing meets the criteria for inclusion in major indexing services such as Scopus; however, it is important to note that all indexing decisions are made independently by these services. IGI Global Scientific Publishing books are selectively indexed by the indexing organization after publication. Indexing cannot be guaranteed for any book prior to publication, and the indexing organization has complete control over the final selection and timeline.

Important Dates

July 13, 2026: Proposal Submission Deadline
July 27, 2026: Notification of Acceptance
August 24, 2026: Full Chapter Submission
September 7, 2026: Review Results Returned
October 1, 2026: Final Chapter Submission

Inquiries

M. D. K. L. Gunathilaka
Yunnan University & University of Colombo
kalpani.lakmali92@gmail.com

Chaitanya Pande
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
chaitanay45@gmail.com

Khin Yuzana khinyuzana17mdy@gmail.com
University of Mandalay
khinyuzana17mdy@gmail.com
Back to Call for Papers List