Aims and scope

Anthropocene Science is a trans- and multidisciplinary international journal covering all aspects of human impact (including past, present, and future impact) on the bio-physical systems of planet Earth and ground-breaking solutions for restoring and enhancing the carrying capacity of our biosphere. The journal encourages new knowledge and technological, political, and socio-cultural advancements to enable transitions towards global sustainability and planetary stewardship. Further to discern the scope of this journal in an integrated manner, Anthropocene Science is defined as a transformative human-environmental science based on traditional and modern knowledge systems, technologies, applications, and nature-friendly practices ingrained in ethics, plural values and positive behavioural changes for planetary stewardship. The journal publishes full length research articles, short communications, reviews (both invited and regular), graphical reviews, opinions, policy analysis, news and views, and case studies on conceptual, theoretical, applied, modelling, simulation, and policy research in all aspects of the Anthropocene. The periodicity of the journal is quarterly.

The journal does not accept papers that lack sustainability insight, implications for practice/explicit management and/or policy recommendations, and trans/multidisciplinary perspectives. The scope of Anthropocene Science include, but are not limited to, the following fields:

• Agrobiodiversity and biocultural diversity for sustainable diets, planet friendly agriculture (e.g., adaptive, climate-resilient, and ecological agriculture, soil-less cultivation, urban agriculture, integrated farming practices etc.) for food and nutrition security and ecological stability, future sources of food, responsible food production and consumption for reducing the overall human footprint, food system transition and food sovereignty in the Anthropocene.
• Air pollution and climate change, air pollution control and air quality management in the Anthropocene.
• Biotechnological, nanotechnological and other emerging technological advancements for reducing the human impact (e.g., pollution, greenhouse gases emission etc.) in the Anthropocene.
• Cleaner, sustainable and resilient energy systems, energy security, and energy informatics in the Anthropocene.
• Disaster management and ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) strategies in the Anthropocene.
• Ecosystem governance, social equity, gender equality, environmental justice, environmental stewardship for the wellbeing of both people and planet.
• Ecosystem restoration in the Anthropocene: UN-International Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), post-2030 restoration framework, restoration and remediation of polluted, contaminated and degraded terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the Anthropocene.
• Education, communication, and capacity building for promoting sustainability in the Anthropocene.
• Green and ecological economics, technological and socio-cultural innovations, sustainable practices and societal transitions for circular, bio-based and greenhouse gases-neutral economy, social and political ecology in the Anthropocene.
• Industrial sustainability: cleaner, responsible and sustainable industrial production, pollution decoupling, resources decoupling, material-flow analysis, life-cycle assessment, industrial waste management in the Anthropocene.
• Integrated water resources management: water quality management, ecohydrology, sociohydrology and coupled human-water systems, water security, and hydro-informatics in the Anthropocene.
• Land system science: the role of land system and their change, land-sea and land-atmosphere interactions, land use policy, land governance, traditional and sustainable land use and land management practices in the Anthropocene.
• Measuring, analysing, and modelling past, present, and future human impacts on the bio-physical systems of the Earth (i.e., geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere), climate change and multi-scale interactions in the Earth systems, emerging paradigms in climate change mitigation and adaptation, climate risk management in the Anthropocene.
• Nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptations (EbA) in the Anthropocene.
• Operationalising planetary boundaries framework for sustainable development at various scales and sectors, sustainable approaches for enhancing carrying capacity of the Earth systems.
• Policy research for achieving the UN-SDGs, implementation and monitoring strategies for the SDGs at the local, national, regional, and global level, post-2030 strategies for global sustainability, planetary stewardship in the Anthropocene.
• Pandemics (e.g., COVID-19), human health, and social-ecological resilience, pollution induced public health risks, managing public health in the Anthropocene.
• Success stories & lessons learned: case studies on world-wide adopted sustainability practices and policies
• Sustainable and participatory rural development, rural-urban linkages, sustainable rural tourism.
• Sustainable biodiversity conservation for ecosystem health and human well-being, strategies for incorporating biodiversity/nature into national accounting, positive behavioural changes and instilling values for living in harmony with nature, integrated polar, forest, mountain, marine, deserts, coastal, island, and agroecosystem management in the Anthropocene.
• Tools and techniques for the real valuation of ecosystem services, role of protected areas in fostering sustainability, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) for regaining ecosystem health and services in the Anthropocene.
• Urban sustainability: resilience of urban systems in the Anthropocene, social-metabolic perspectives, green and clean cities, urban forestry, resilient infrastructure (e.g., blue-green infrastructure), sustainable habitation, sustainable transportation, urban waste management, urban planning, and urban informatics in the Anthropocene.