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Human and natural ecosystems refer to human–social–economic subsystems and natural–ecological subsystems and their interactions. Understanding the interactions between human and natural ecosystems is essential for regional sustainability. However, the coupled human–nature ecosystem is usually highly heterogeneous and both spatially and temporally complex, so it is difficult to accurately identify and quantify the interaction between human and natural ecosystems at a large scale. This results in a poor understanding and evaluation of its impact on regional sustainability. Therefore, given the increasing interaction between humans and the natural ecosystem, our Special Issue collated 11 contributions from Asian scholars focusing on the latest research advances in remote sensing technologies and their application to observing, understanding, modeling, and explaining the interaction between human and natural ecosystems. This research involves the development of innovative methods, indicators, and frameworks implementing different perspectives and spatio-temporal scales, covering urban, arid, plateau, watershed, and marine regions in Asia and promoting the sustainable development of regional human and natural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), also known as SARS-CoV-2, is highly pathogenic and virulent, and it spreads very quickly through human-to-human contact. In response to the growing number of cases, governments across the spectrum of affected countries have adopted different strategies in implementing control measures, in a hope to reduce the number of new cases. However, 5 months after the first confirmed case, countries like the United States of America (US) seems to be heading towards a trajectory that indicates a health care crisis. This is in stark contrast to the downward trajectory in Europe, China, and elsewhere in Asia, where the number of new cases has seen a decline ahead of an anticipated second wave. A data-driven approach reveals three key strategies in tackling COVID-19. Our work here has definitively evaluated these strategies and serves as a warning to the US, and more importantly, a guide for tackling future pandemics. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/gPkCi2_7tWo., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)