Regional Environmental Change

Environmental changes of many kinds are accelerating worldwide, posing significant challenges for humanity. Solutions are needed at the regional level, where physical features of the landscape, biological systems, and human institutions interact.The goal of Regional Environmental Change is to publish scientific research and opinion papers that improve our understanding of the extent of these changes, their causes, their impacts on people, and the options for society to respond. "Regional" refers to the full range of scales between local and global, including regions defined by natural criteria, such as watersheds and ecosystems, and those defined by human activities, such as urban areas and their hinterlands.We encourage submissions on interdisciplinary research across the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and on more focused studies that contribute towards the solutions to complex environmental problems. Topics addressed include (i) the regional manifestations of global change, especially the vulnerability of regions and sectors; (ii) the adaptation of social-ecological systems to environmental change in the context of sustainable development; and (iii) trans-boundary and cross-jurisdictional issues, legislative and governance frameworks, and the broad range of policy and management issues associated with building, maintaining and restoring robust social-ecological systems at regional scales.The primary format of contributions are research articles, presenting new evidence from analyses of empirical data or else more theoretical investigations of regional environmental change. In addition to research articles, we also publish editorials, short communications, invited mini-reviews on topics of strong current interest, as well as special features that provide multifaceted discussion of complex topics or particular regions.

世界范围内各种各样的环境变化正在加速，给人类带来重大挑战。在景观、生物系统和人类机构的物理特征相互作用的区域一级，需要解决办法。区域环境变化的目标是发表科学研究和意见论文，增进我们对这些变化的程度、原因、对人民的影响以及社会作出反应的选择的了解。“区域”是指地方和全球之间的各种规模，包括以自然标准界定的区域，例如流域和生态系统，以及以人类活动界定的区域，例如城市地区及其腹地。我们鼓励提交自然科学、社会科学和人文学科的跨学科研究报告，以及有助于解决复杂环境问题的更有针对性的研究报告。讨论的主题包括(i)全球变化的区域表现，特别是区域和部门的脆弱性;在可持续发展的范围内使社会生态系统适应环境变化;跨界和跨管辖问题、立法和治理框架以及与在区域范围内建立、维持和恢复健全的社会生态系统有关的广泛政策和管理问题。论文的主要形式是研究论文，通过分析经验数据或对区域环境变化进行更多的理论调查，提出新的证据。除了研究文章，我们还发表社论、简短的交流、邀请对当前感兴趣的主题进行小型评论，以及提供对复杂主题或特定区域进行多方面讨论的专题。