sample cover letter for submitting a manuscript in journal

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How to write a cover letter for journal submission

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When you submit your article to a journal, you often need to include a cover letter. This is a great opportunity to highlight to the journal editor what makes your research new and important. The cover letter should explain why your work is perfect for their journal and why it will be of interest to the journal’s readers.

When writing for publication, a well-written cover letter can help your paper reach the next stage of the manuscript submission process – being sent out for  peer review . So it’s worth spending time thinking about how to write a cover letter to the journal editor, to make sure it’s going to be effective.

To help you, we’ve put together a guide to explain how to write a cover letter for journal article submission. You will receive cover letter instructions of what you should include and what you shouldn’t, and a word template cover letter.

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What should my cover letter include?

Before you start to write, please check the  instructions for authors  (IFAs) of your chosen journal, as not all journals will require one. You should also check the IFAs for any journal specific information on what to include. This may include a list of relevant articles written by you or your co-authors that have been or are currently being considered for publication in other journals.

Key points to include in your letter to the editor:

Editor’s name (you can usually find this on the journal page on  Taylor & Francis Online ).

Your manuscript’s title.

Name of the journal you are submitting to.

Statement that your paper has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by another journal.

Brief description of the research you are reporting in your paper, why it is important, and why you think the readers of the journal would be interested in it.

Contact information for you and any  co-authors .

Confirmation that you have no  competing interests  to disclose.

Things to avoid:

Don’t copy your abstract into your cover letter, instead explain in your own words the significance of the work, the problem that is being addressed, and why the manuscript belongs in the journal.

Don’t use too much jargon or too many acronyms, keep language straightforward and easy to read.

Avoid too much detail – keep your cover letter to a maximum of one page, as an introduction and brief overview.

Avoid any spelling and grammar errors and ensure your letter is thoroughly proofed before submitting.

Click to enlarge your PDF on key information to include in your cover letter .

Cover letter template

If you need further help to write a cover letter for a journal, you can download and use our sample template as a guide.

You might find that the submission system for your chosen journal requires your cover letter to be submitted into a text box rather than as a separate document, but it is still a good idea to write a draft first to make sure you have included everything.

Always make sure to check the journal’s  instructions for authors  for any specific additional information to include.

Submission ready

Use our submission checklist  to make sure you’ve included everything you need to.

If you need more guidance, take a look at our other  information and resources to help you make your submission .

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Consider the Taylor & Francis Rapid Technical Review service to help you meet your deadline, through peer-review-like comments on your manuscript.

Related resources

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Written Samples

15 sample cover letters for manuscript submission.

Submitting your manuscript to a publisher can feel like sending your creative work into a black hole.

You painstakingly craft your cover letter, follow all the submission guidelines to a T, and hit send with trembling fingers, only to be left waiting and wondering for weeks or months.

Will an editor connect with your story?

Will they even read past the first page?

While there is no magic formula for getting your work accepted, a compelling cover letter is an essential tool for catching an editor’s attention.

Sample Cover Letters for Manuscript Submission

The ideal cover letter is professional but personable, concise but informative. It should pique the editor’s interest while showing that you’ve done your research and are familiar with their publication.

To help inspire your submission, we’ve compiled 15 sample cover letters that successfully led to manuscript requests or publication.

Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or children’s books, you’ll find a variety of approaches represented here.

Let’s explore them!

Sample Cover Letter #1

Dear [Editor’s Name],

Please find attached my 80,000-word upmarket women’s fiction novel, THE LOST YEARS, for your consideration.

Charlotte Hawkins had an idyllic childhood—until the day her best friend Jenny disappeared without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte is a successful attorney in Boston, engaged to a senator’s son, her past trauma buried deep. But when she receives an anonymous letter hinting that Jenny is still alive, everything unravels.

Traveling back to her hometown in Maine, Charlotte must confront unsettling truths about her family and the events surrounding Jenny’s disappearance. As she edges closer to answers that could rewrite her entire history, she risks losing everything she’s worked so hard to build. THE LOST YEARS explores the ripple effects of childhood secrets and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love.

I am a graduate of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop novel program and my short fiction has appeared in Carve Magazine, The Chattahoochee Review, and Rosebud. I believe THE LOST YEARS will appeal to fans of Jennifer Weiner and Jamie Brenner.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

[Your Name]

Sample Cover Letter #2

Dear [Agent’s Name],

I am seeking representation for my 75,000-word contemporary romance novel, LOVE ON THE VINE. Given your interest in wine country settings and swoony but smart love stories, I thought it might be a fit for your list.

Mia Reeves planned to save her family’s struggling Sonoma winery—not fall for the wealthy wine collector trying to buy them out. But Andrew Walker is charming, passionate, and offers a tempting way out of her financial woes. As they work together to revitalize the vineyards, their chemistry ignites. There’s only one problem: Andrew is poised to acquire the winery that’s been in Mia’s family for generations. Caught between her heart and her legacy, Mia must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for love.

LOVE ON THE VINE is a standalone novel with series potential, featuring a diverse cast of characters, mouthwatering culinary delights, and an emotional, sensual romance. I envision it appealing to readers who enjoyed Jasmine Guillory’s THE WEDDING DATE or the Napa Valley wine country setting of Meg Donohue’s EVERY WILD HEART.

I have been an avid romance reader for over a decade and am an active member of my local RWA chapter. This is my first novel. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Thank you for your consideration! I’m excited to share LOVE ON THE VINE with you.

All my best,

Sample Cover Letter #3

I am writing to submit my picture book manuscript, EVERYBODY HAS A BELLYBUTTON, for your review. At 650 words, this humorous and educational story will help curious preschoolers understand why all mammals have navels, with charming illustrations of different baby animals and their adorable tummies.

When a curious young girl named Layla asks why her puppy Biscuit has a belly button just like her, Mama explains how all mammals—from cats to elephants to humans—grow inside their mothers and are born with a navel. Excited by this news, Layla runs to tell her friends that she has something in common with all different kinds of animals. EVERYBODY HAS A BELLYBUTTON lightly touches on themes of curiosity, empathy, and finding connections with others.

With a background in early childhood education and two children of my own, I was inspired to write a story that celebrates children’s natural curiosity about their bodies and the world around them. Similar titles include:

• I WISH YOU MORE by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

• NOT QUITE NARWHAL by Jessie Sima 

• THE RABBIT LISTENED by Cori Doerrfeld

This is my first picture book submission. I would be happy to send the full manuscript for your review.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sample Cover Letter #4

I am pleased to submit four poems for your consideration: “Bone Orchard,” “The Glassblower’s Daughter,” “Demeter in Winter,” and “Persephone, Reimagined.” Totaling approximately 300 words, these pieces explore themes of loss, transformation, and mythology through a feminist lens.

My poetry has previously appeared in Rattle, THRUSH Poetry Journal, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and Menacing Hedge, among others. In 2019, I was a finalist for the Autumn House Rising Writer Prize. I hold an MFA from Warren Wilson College and serve as a poetry editor for Longleaf Review.

I appreciate [Literary Journal]’s commitment to publishing powerful, finely wrought verse that engages with social issues. I believe my work may resonate with your readers and would be honored to see these pieces included in an upcoming issue.

Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I look forward to your response.

Best regards,

Sample Cover Letter #5

I am writing to seek representation for THE SHADOW GARDEN, my 95,000-word gothic mystery novel. With shades of Mexican Gothic and Rebecca, this multi-generational tale of secrets and deception may be of interest given your enthusiasm for atmospheric, suspenseful fiction with strong female characters.

When recently divorced painter Sonia Villa inherits a crumbling estate in the Mexican countryside from a grandmother she never knew, it seems like the fresh start she needs—until she stumbles upon human remains in the overgrown garden. But this is only the first in a series of disturbing discoveries that draw Sonia into the tangled history of her enigmatic grandmother Rosalinda and the mansion’s dark past.

As Sonia unearths the shocking truth behind Rosalinda’s hasty marriage to a wealthy older man, her mysterious death soon after, and the whispered rumors of madness and murder that have long haunted the property, she realizes her own life may be in danger. Because now that Sonia has learned the house’s secrets, whatever killed her grandmother is coming for her next.

I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami and my short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This is my debut novel. I have included the first ten pages below. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience regarding THE SHADOW GARDEN.

Sample Cover Letter #6

Please find attached my creative nonfiction essay, “Stitched,” for consideration in [Literary Journal]. At 3,500 words, this piece examines the connective threads between memory and handcraft through the lens of the embroidered tablecloth that has been passed down through generations of women in my family.

While the tablecloth itself is a work of art, the essay reveals it as so much more—a document of my family’s history, a representation of the traditionally undervalued emotional and creative labor of women, a love letter, and a memorial. The threads of the tablecloth become a metaphor for the ties that bind a mother to daughter across decades, stitching together family lore, cultural heritage, domesticity, and selfhood.

My essays have previously appeared in River Teeth, Hippocampus Magazine, Under the Sun, and The Rumpus. I am a staff writer for Book Riot, where I cover craft titles and fiber arts-related books. I have an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College.

I believe “Stitched” will resonate with [Literary Journal]’s readership, given your focus on publishing intimate, voice-driven narratives that engage with questions of family and identity. Thank you for considering my work. I look forward to your response.

Sample Cover Letter #7

I’ve been an avid reader of your blog and a fan of several authors you represent, so I was thrilled to see that you’re actively seeking middle-grade adventures. I’m writing to share my upper MG fantasy novel, RIVER OF STARS, complete at 75,000 words.

Twelve-year-old Kin has always felt out of place, caught between two worlds. As one of the last descendants of an ancient race that draws magic from the night sky, she should be training in secret with the other starchildren. Instead, she’s stuck living a boring, magic-less life in the bustling port city of Haiyang, helping out at her family’s struggling noodle shop.

But when an evil sorcerer escapes from prison and begins kidnapping starchildren in an attempt to steal their celestial powers, Kin can no longer hide from her destiny. With help from her best friend Lin and a mischievous flying monkey named Feng, Kin must embrace her heritage, master her budding abilities, and figure out how to save her people—all while keeping her double life hidden from the authorities and finishing her homework on time.

Inspired by Chinese mythology and the stories my grandmother told me as a child, RIVER OF STARS is a fast-paced, voice-driven adventure full of magic, humor, and heart. It explores growing up caught between cultures and learning to celebrate what makes you different. This standalone novel has series potential and will appeal to fans of Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee and the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series by Sayantani DasGupta.

I hold an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons University and am an active member of SCBWI. My narrative nonfiction piece, “Mooncakes with Grandma,” appeared in Stories for Children Magazine.

Per your submission guidelines, I have included the first three chapters of RIVER OF STARS below. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Sample Cover Letter #8

I am submitting my short story “The Cartography of Ghosts” for consideration in [Literary Journal]. Complete at 7,000 words, this piece of speculative fiction follows a mother-daughter team of paranormal investigators as they attempt to unravel the truth behind a mysterious death in a small Oregon logging town.

On its surface, “The Cartography of Ghosts” is a ghost story, complete with a creepy abandoned sawmill and possible demonic possession. But at its heart, it’s a tale about the memories and emotions that haunt us long after we think we’ve let them go. Protagonist Vera is forced to confront her unresolved guilt and grief regarding her father’s death years before as she and her psychic daughter Sabine investigate the ghost of a logger who died under eerily similar circumstances.

I’m the author of the indie horror novels Night Tide and The Juniper Bones, which have collectively sold over 5,000 copies. My short fiction has appeared in Lamplight, The Dark, and Unnerving Magazine. I am currently working on my third novel.

Given [Literary Journal]’s reputation for publishing emotionally resonant, cross-genre fiction with an emphasis on the strange and unsettling, I believe “The Cartography of Ghosts” would be an excellent fit. Thank you for your consideration.

Sample Cover Letter #9

I am writing to submit my narrative nonfiction piece “In Praise of Weeds” (3,000 words) for consideration in the spring issue of [Literary Journal].

“In Praise of Weeds” is a lyrical meditation on suburban ecology, motherhood, and finding beauty in unexpected places. Inspired by my young daughter’s fascination with the dandelions and clover that dot our local park, this essay examines the vital role that “undesirable” plants play in supporting pollinators and other wildlife. It also touches on themes of allowing children to experience small freedoms and cultivating a sense of wonder about the natural world close to home.

As an environmental journalist, my work frequently examines the intersections of nature, science, and human experience. My articles and essays have appeared in Sierra, Orion, Catapult, and [Literary Journal]. This piece will resonate with your ecologically engaged readership and would be a timely fit for an issue released just as spring wildflowers begin to bloom.

I appreciate you taking the time to read “In Praise of Weeds.” I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sample Cover Letter #10

I discovered your name in the acknowledgments of Courtney Summers’ Sadie, as she credited you with helping bring that powerful book into the world. Given your enthusiasm for gritty, voice-driven YA fiction tackling complex social issues, I believe my novel WHEN WE VANISHED may be of interest.

Complete at 80,000 words, WHEN WE VANISHED is a dual POV contemporary YA that pairs the unputdownable pacing of Karen McManus with Tiffany D. Jackson’s acerbic wit and unflinching look at social injustices. The story follows sixteen-year-old YouTube makeup guru Meena Patel as she and her younger brother are forced to go on the run with their mother after an ICE raid upends their life in Boulder, Colorado.

As Meena, born in the U.S., schemes to turn herself in so her undocumented brother Akash can escape, she clashes with Diego, a former friend whose own father was deported years before. Diego wants to help the Patels forge a new life across the Canadian border, but first Meena must learn to trust him—and find the courage to fight an immigration system intent on tearing her family apart.

I am an immigrant rights activist and community organizer. Like Meena, my parents came to the U.S. from India in the 1980s, and my fears of having my family separated inspired this novel. I hold a BA in Creative Writing from [University].

Attached are the first fifty pages of WHEN WE VANISHED. I’d be happy to send the full manuscript upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon regarding this project.

Sample Cover Letter #11

Nearly one in five Americans live with a mental illness, but misconceptions still abound. I’m writing to submit my completed 65,000-word mental health memoir BEYOND THE BELL JAR for your consideration.

In this book, I recount my experiences as a twenty-two-year-old college student struggling with depression, anxiety, and undiagnosed bipolar disorder against the backdrop of my small Midwestern hometown. Misunderstood by family and friends and failed by an overtaxed healthcare system, I am left to work through the diagnosis, medication, and recovery processes largely on my own—and nearly lose myself in the process.

BEYOND THE BELL JAR is both a coming-of-age story and a clear-eyed examination of the barriers to adequate mental health treatment that persist today. Blending unflinching honesty with biting wit, I tackle heavy topics like suicidal ideation, hospitalization, and the trials and errors of treatment while never losing sight of the wry absurdities of young adulthood. Readers of Esmé Weijun Wang’s The Collected Schizophrenias and Susannah Cahalan’s Brain on Fire will find a similar mix of raw vulnerability, thorough research, and hard-won wisdom here.

I am a mental health advocate and freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, Vox, Bustle, and The Mighty. I have spoken about my experiences at conferences nationwide and regularly lead writing workshops for individuals with mental illness. Conversations sparked by these engagements reinforced my belief that BEYOND THE BELL JAR will find an eager audience seeking candid, enlightening narratives of survival.

Thank you for considering my memoir. I look forward to sharing the complete manuscript with you.

Sample Cover Letter #12

I am seeking representation for my 82,000-word upmarket fiction novel FOR WANT OF A ROOF, which was longlisted for the 2023 [Contest Name] Award. Given your interest in literary fiction with commercial appeal that examines social issues and family dynamics, I thought it might be a good fit for your list.

Architect Alyssa Wu has returned to her hometown in rural Montana on a mission to save her family’s floundering construction business—and to rebuild the strained relationship with her conservative father Dan. Her plan? To convert an abandoned warehouse into a chic “live/work” space that will attract young professionals and revitalize the struggling town center. But when Dan suffers a debilitating stroke, Alyssa must take over the day-to-day operations of Wu & Daughter Construction and complete the high-stakes project alone.

As mounting financial pressures and a bitter winter threaten the warehouse renovation, Alyssa strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jordan, an idealistic social worker who runs the town’s struggling homeless shelter. With Jordan’s support, Alyssa devises an unorthodox solution to keep the project alive, but the risks could cost her everything—her father’s trust, her family’s legacy, and a chance at the life and love she never knew she wanted.

FOR WANT OF A ROOF is a poignant and sharply observed novel about a woman coming into her own as she works to rebuild her family and her community. It will appeal to fans of Tayari Jones’ AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE and GIRL UNBROKEN by Regina Louise.

I hold a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and my short stories have appeared in The Adroit Journal, Joyland, and The Offing. The first three chapters of FOR WANT OF A ROOF are included below. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Sample Cover Letter #13

Please find attached my 500-word flash nonfiction piece “How to Pack Up Your Childhood Bedroom” for consideration in [Literary Journal].

This concise essay serves as a melancholy how-to guide for the universal experience of boxing up one’s belongings and leaving the childhood home, touching on themes of growing up, letting go, and the mix of grief and excitement that accompanies this bittersweet rite of passage. Through cataloging the detritus of adolescence—half-finished diaries, concert ticket stubs, trophies from bygone hobbies—the narrator reflects on who they were and who they hope to become.

“How to Pack Up Your Childhood Bedroom” provides a snapshot into the life of someone on the precipice of a new beginning, capturing the uncertainty and possibility of this liminal moment. I believe it will resonate with [Literary Journal]’s readers, many of whom are students on the cusp of similar transitions.

My nonfiction has been published in Brevity, The Rumpus, The Offing, and Gay Magazine. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa.

Thank you for considering my work. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sample Cover Letter #14

I’m writing to seek representation for my 90,000-word young adult science fiction novel, REBEL RADIO, which was a finalist for the [Contest Name] Emerging Writers Prize.

In the year 2135, the authoritarian Harmony Party outlawed music, art, and other forms of creative expression in favor of “productive pursuits.” Sixteen-year-old Cadence, a natural-born musician, finds an unexpected outlet for her banned passion: a secret rebel radio station broadcasting underground rock shows to the youth of her domed city. Performing on air as DJ Siren, Cadence revels in using music to spark small acts of defiance and give hope to other artistic souls—until her pirate radio exploits draw the attention of a handsome government enforcer who may not be the enemy he seems.

As Cadence and her fellow rebel musicians race to throw the rock show of the century, they must dodge surveillance drones, misleading holograms, and the constant threat of arrest. But when a source inside the government reveals the Harmony Party’s horrific true agenda, Cadence realizes their performances could be the key to bringing down the whole system—if they can find the courage to play one last song.

REBEL RADIO is an action-packed, anti-authoritarian anthem that never loses sight of the power of music, creativity, and connection in any era. It will appeal to fans of POET X by Elizabeth Acevedo and Lauren Oliver’s DELIRIUM series.

I am a music journalist and YA author. My debut novel, DRUM ROLL PLEASE, was published by [Publisher Name] in 2019 to critical acclaim. The full manuscript of REBEL RADIO is available upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon about this project.

Sample Cover Letter #15

I’m submitting my contemporary short story “Bottomless” for consideration in your summer fiction issue. At 4,200 words, this piece follows a woman’s impromptu journey to reconnect with a piece of her past—and perhaps find a new way forward.

Reeling from her mother’s death and an unexpected divorce, 38-year-old Mira takes a spontaneous road trip to attend her twenty-year high school reunion. Along the way, she becomes entangled with an old classmate she barely remembers and a local urban legend that haunted their teenage years. Throughout a strange and illuminating weekend, Mira must finally confront the unsolved disappearance that shaped her youth and the gaping absences in her own life.

“Bottomless” examines questions of grief and resilience, the untold stories we carry, and what happens when the clear-cut roles and relationships of adolescence grow murky with age. Fans of Emma Cline’s short fiction will appreciate the sense of enigmatic menace thrumming beneath the surface of the everyday.

My fiction has appeared in One Story, American Short Fiction, Ninth Letter, and The Pushcart Prize anthology. I work as a features editor at [Publication Name].

Thank you for your time and consideration. I’d be thrilled to see “Bottomless” included in your upcoming issue.

These 15 examples show the range of styles and techniques that can be employed in compelling cover letters tailored to a variety of projects, genres, and submission opportunities.

Whether you’re an emerging writer seeking publication for the first time or an established author with many credits to your name, a strong cover letter is an invaluable tool for providing context for your submission, connecting with editors and agents, and showing that you’ve done your research.

The most effective cover letters are professional but passionate, concise but key, enticing the reader to immerse themselves in your manuscript while demonstrating your familiarity with the market and your thoughtful rationale for submitting to this particular venue or individual.

To write your potent cover letter, be sure to:

• Address a specific individual by name when possible
• Mention the title, genre, and word count of your project in the first paragraph
• Provide a brief but compelling plot summary or description of your piece
• Include your publishing history and relevant writing credentials
• Explain why you believe the project is a fit for the recipient
• Thank the reader for their consideration and express enthusiasm for their reply
• Keep it to about 3-5 paragraphs or no more than a single page
• Close the letter professionally and cordially

Above all, remember that your ultimate goal is to give the reader a tantalizing taste of your unique voice and perspective, convincing them that your writing is worth their time and serious consideration.

By studying effective cover letter examples, identifying the hallmarks of your project, and presenting both with clarity and confidence, you’ll be well on your way to catching an editor’s eye and bringing your work into the world.

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How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Manuscript? Here are the Tips and Examples

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Table of Contents

A cover letter is often the first thing an editor reads when reviewing your submission. As your first pitch to the editor, the cover letter helps them gauge the suitability of your manuscript for publication in their journal. Imagine your work shaping the future of your field, gathering citations, and sparking discussions. A powerful cover letter is thus the first step to making that vision into a reality.   

In this article, we will guide you through the process of writing an effective cover letter and explain how you can get it right every time with examples. First, let us get started with the basics!  

Getting the Basics Right  

When writing a cover letter, it is crucial to address the editor by their correct and complete name¹ . If there are multiple co-editors, you can address your letter to the right person, based on their specialization or designated responsibilities. If unsure, it is okay to go with a more general salutation, such as “Dear Editors”¹ .   

Presenting your Research  

Provide a clear and concise title for your submission and specify whether it is an article, communication, review, perspective, or a manuscript belonging to some other category. If the journal guideline recommends, consider including a list of all authors in the manuscript.   

After covering the preliminary information, briefly explain your paper’s central theme or focus to give the editor an idea of its contents. Ensure this stays a brief outline, without going into too much detail.   

Conveying the Importance of Your Work  

How you communicate the impact of your work can make or break your cover letter. To make a strong impression on the editor, articulate the significance of your research clearly, emphasizing its relevance to the field. Additionally, show how your work aligns with the journal’s scope and mission.  

Including a Formal Declaration  

Some journals require a set of declarations from you to ensure that your manuscript adheres to its ethical code and the larger ethical standards of scientific publishing. Here are the required declarations in a cover letter:  

• Originality of work:  
• Confirm that your work is original and has not been published elsewhere. This tells the editor your research is unique.  
• Conflict of interest statement:  
• Be clear about any potential conflicts of interest. This includes any personal, financial, or professional connections that might affect your research.  
• Funding source (if applicable):  
• Tell where your research funding came from, if any. This includes any support or grants from organizations.   

Including Personal Suggestions for Reviewers on a Separate Page (optional)  

If there is no part of the submission process that collects researcher suggestions for reviewers, and there are special requests from the researcher for reviewers (e.g., recommending the inclusion or suggesting the exclusion of a specific reviewer, etc.), you may also make a note about this in the cover letter.  

Combining these five points, here is a good example of a cover letter for researchers’ reference:  

(This image is intended to demonstrate the norms of formatting and tone of expression in a cover letter, it is to be used only by the researcher as a reference in writing² .)  

Conclusion  

A strong cover letter can go a long way in ensuring success for researchers looking to publish their manuscripts! Your cover letter is the opening act, setting the stage for how editors perceive your manuscript. So, look at it not as just another formality but as a crucial opportunity to make a strong impression.   

Understanding what to include, what is optional, and what is best left unsaid can be tricky. That is where our team of experts at Elsevier Language Services can step in. We will provide personalized recommendations and expert guidance to help you craft a cover letter that perfectly complements your manuscript. Reach out to us today to make a great first impression and embark on a successful academic journey!  

Reference  

• Nicholas, D. (2019). How to choose a journal and write a cover letter. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia, 13(5), 35. https://doi.org/10.4103/sja.sja_691_18  
• Loyola University Chicago. (n.d.). JCSHESA Sample Cover Letter. https://ecommons.luc.edu/jcshesa/cover_letter_template.pdf  

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How to Write an Effective Cover Letter for Journal Submission

Craft your cover letter for journal submission the right way with our expert tips! Learn how to grab editors’ attention and stand it out.

When it comes to submitting a manuscript for publication in a journal, many authors focus solely on the quality of their research and the clarity of their writing. While these are important factors, it’s easy to overlook the role that a well-crafted cover letter can play in the submission process. A cover letter can be the key to getting your manuscript noticed by the editor and ultimately accepted for publication. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of a cover letter for journal submissions and provide tips for crafting an effective one.

What is a Cover Letter for Journal Submission?

A cover letter for journal submission is a document that accompanies a manuscript when it is submitted for publication in an academic or scientific journal. The purpose of the cover letter is to introduce the author and their work to the editor of the journal and to provide any additional information that may be relevant to the manuscript or the submission process. Furthermore, its purpose is to introduce the manuscript to the editor and provide additional information about the research and its significance . The cover letter should be concise and focused, typically no more than one page.

What Should be Included in the Cover Letter?

A cover letter should include several key elements to effectively introduce your manuscript. It’s important to personalize the letter for the specific journal, use a professional tone, and proofread carefully for errors. To make sure your cover letter is effective, there are several key elements that you should include:

Addressee’s Information and Date of Submission

Your cover letter should start with the date of submission, followed by the name and address of the editor or editorial staff who will be reviewing your manuscript. This information should be current and accurate to ensure your submission is directed to the right person.

Opening Salutation

The opening salutation of your cover letter should be professional and courteous, addressing the editor or editorial staff by name, starting with “Dear…”. Don´t forget to include the title and position of the editor you are addressing.

Purpose Statement and Administrative Information

Your cover letter should have a clear statement of the purpose of your research and the journal to which you are submitting your manuscript. You should also include any administrative information required by the journal, such as the type of manuscript (e.g. original research, review article, case report) and the number of words or pages.

Summary of Main Research Findings and Implications

One of the most important elements of your cover letter is a summary of the main findings and implications of your research. This summary should be concise and focused, highlighting the most important aspects of your research and why it is significant to the field.

Statements or Information Required by the Journal

Many journals require specific statements or information to be included in the cover letter. This may include a statement that the manuscript has not been previously published or is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, or a list of potential conflicts of interest or funding sources that may have influenced the research.

Previous Contact with the Journal

If you have had previous contact with the journal, such as submitting a previous manuscript or attending a conference sponsored by the journal, it is important to mention this in your cover letter. This information can help establish a connection between you and the editor, which may increase the chances of your manuscript being accepted.

Conflict of Interests and Financial Disclosures

It is important to disclose any potential conflicts of interest or financial disclosures that may have influenced the research. This information can help ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the research.

Your cover letter should include a statement indicating that all authors have read and approved the manuscript and that the work is original and not plagiarized. This information can help establish the credibility of the research and the integrity of the authorship.

Suggested Reviewers

Suggested Reviewers are generally considered a best practice and are often recommended by journals. Providing a list of suggested reviewers can help to ensure that the manuscript is reviewed by individuals who have the appropriate expertise and background to evaluate the work, and can help to speed up the review process by reducing the time needed for the editor to identify potential reviewers. This can help expedite the review process and increase the likelihood of your manuscript being accepted.

Concurrent/Duplicate Submissions

An important consideration when submitting a manuscript for publication is concurrent or duplicate submissions. Concurrent submissions occur when a manuscript is submitted to more than one journal at the same time. Duplicate submissions occur when a manuscript is submitted to the same journal more than once.

In the cover letter, you should clearly state whether the manuscript has been submitted elsewhere or whether it has been previously published. If the manuscript is under consideration elsewhere, you should provide the name of the journal and the date of submission. If the manuscript has been previously published, you should provide the citation for the publication.

Closing Salutation

When closing a cover letter for journal submission, it’s important to maintain a professional and courteous tone. A common closing salutation is “Sincerely,” followed by your name. However, some alternatives that are also appropriate include “Best regards,” “Thank you for your time and consideration,” or “Respectfully.” Whichever salutation you choose, make sure it matches the tone of your letter and conveys your appreciation for the editor’s consideration.

Request to Exclude Reviewers

A request to exclude reviewers is a common feature of a cover letter for journal submission, particularly in cases where the author has concerns about potential conflicts of interest or bias that could affect the review process.

When making a request to exclude reviewers, the author should provide a clear and concise explanation of the reasons for the request and should provide specific details about any potential conflicts of interest or concerns that they may have. It is also important to note that some journals may have specific guidelines or policies regarding requests to exclude reviewers, and authors should familiarize themselves with these guidelines before making a request.

In general, it is recommended that authors provide a minimum of three to five potential reviewers who are not affiliated with the author or their institution, in order to provide a broad range of expertise and perspectives. When making a request to exclude reviewers, it is also important to provide alternative suggestions for potential reviewers who could be considered in their place.

Tips for Writing a Journal Submission Cover Letter

A well-crafted cover letter can help your manuscript stand out and increase your chances of being accepted for publication. Here are some tips for writing an effective journal submission cover letter.

One of the most important tips for writing a journal submission cover letter is to proofread it carefully. Typos, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes can detract from the professional image you want to project. Make sure to read the letter multiple times and have someone else read it over as well to catch any errors you may have missed.

Keep the Cover Letter Brief

Another important tip is to keep the cover letter brief and to the point. The cover letter should provide a brief introduction of the manuscript and the key findings, as well as any other information that is necessary for the editor to understand the importance and relevance of the manuscript. The letter should be no more than one page in length.

Review Examples of Cover Letters

It can be helpful to review examples of cover letters for journal submissions to get an idea of the style, tone, and content that is appropriate. You can search for examples online or ask colleagues who have submitted manuscripts for publication for their advice. When reviewing examples, pay attention to the language used, the level of detail provided, and the overall organization and structure of the letter. This can help you craft a cover letter that is professional, informative, and effective.

Cover Letter Template for a Journal Article Submission

A cover letter is an important component of manuscript submission for publication in a journal. Using a template can help ensure that your cover letter includes all the necessary information and follows the proper format. Here is a guide to creating a cover letter template for a journal article submission.

The header should include your contact information, including your name, affiliation, and contact details (address, phone number, and email address), the date of submission, and the name and address of the journal.

Opening Paragraph

The opening paragraph should provide a brief introduction to the manuscript and its key findings. This paragraph should also mention the purpose of the manuscript and why it is relevant to the journal’s readership. You may also want to mention any previous correspondence or contact with the journal.

Body Paragraphs

The body of the cover letter should include several paragraphs that provide more detail about the manuscript. This may include a summary of the methods used, key results and findings, and implications for future research. You may also want to mention any notable limitations or challenges encountered during the research process.

It is also important to address any specific requirements or requests from the journal, such as a particular format for tables or figures , or specific information to be included in the manuscript. You should also mention any funding sources or conflicts of interest that may be relevant.

Closing Paragraph

The closing paragraph should reiterate the significance of the manuscript and its contribution to the field. You may also want to mention any potential reviewers for the manuscript or suggest reviewers who would be appropriate. Finally, you should include a polite and professional closing, such as “Sincerely” or “Best regards”, followed by your name and signature.

Common Expressions for Cover Letters

When writing a cover letter for journal submission, it’s important to use appropriate and professional language. Here are some common expressions that can be used in cover letters:

“We are pleased to submit our manuscript…”

“The research reported in this manuscript addresses a significant gap in the literature…”

“We believe this manuscript will be of interest to your readership because…”

“Our findings have important implications for future research in this field.”

“We would like to thank the reviewers and editors for their time and consideration.”

“We look forward to hearing from you regarding the status of our manuscript.”

“Thank you for your time and consideration.”

These expressions can be used to convey important information in a professional and concise manner. When using these expressions, it’s important to tailor them to the specific journal and to make sure they are appropriate for the content of your cover letter.

Journal Submission Tips and Hacks from the Experts

Submitting a journal article can be a challenging and sometimes frustrating process. However, by following some tips and hacks from the experts, you can increase your chances of success . Here are some tips and hacks to help you submit your article to a journal:

Choose the Right Journal

Before submitting your article, make sure you choose the right journal. Consider factors such as the journal’s scope, readership, and impact factor . Make sure your article fits with the journal’s focus and aims.

Read the Guidelines

Read the journal’s submission guidelines carefully and follow them closely. Pay attention to formatting, length, and other requirements. Failure to follow the guidelines could result in your article being rejected without review.

Get Feedback

Before submitting your article, get feedback from colleagues or mentors. Ask them to read your manuscript and provide constructive criticism. This can help you identify potential weaknesses and improve the quality of your article.

Write a Strong Abstract

Your abstract is often the first thing that editors and reviewers will read. Make sure it is clear, concise, and provides a compelling summary of your article. Highlight the key findings and implications of your research.

Use Clear and Concise Language

Use clear and concise language when writing your article. Avoid jargon, technical terms, and complex language that could be difficult for readers to understand. Write in a way that is accessible to a broad audience.

Address Reviewer Comments

If your article is rejected or requires revisions, make sure you carefully address all reviewer comments. Be thorough and professional in your responses. This can increase your chances of acceptance in future rounds of review.

Keep Records

Keep records of all correspondence with the journal, including submission dates, reviewer comments, and decisions. This can help you stay organized and keep track of the progress of your article.

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Journal Submission Cover Letter Example

Written by Mark DeGrasso

May 4, 2023.

If you’re looking to get your work published in a journal, you already know how important it is to submit a well-written cover letter. This document is your chance to make a good first impression, and it can often be the deciding factor in whether or not your submission is accepted. In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about creating a standout journal submission cover letter, including essential components and common mistakes to avoid.

What Employers Look For In A Journal Submission Cover Letter

When it comes to submitting your work to a journal, your cover letter can make all the difference. It’s your chance to introduce yourself and your work to potential employers and convince them that your submission is worth their time and consideration. However, it’s important to understand what employers are looking for in a cover letter so that you can make the best impression possible.

First and foremost, employers are looking for professionalism. Your cover letter should be written in a professional tone of voice and be free of any typos or grammatical errors. This shows that you take your work seriously and that you have put in the effort to present yourself in the best possible light.

Personalization is also key. Employers want to see evidence that you’ve done your research and have a clear understanding of their publication. Take the time to read through their website and familiarize yourself with their style and tone. This will allow you to tailor your cover letter to their specific needs and show that you are truly interested in working with them.

In addition to personalization, it’s important to demonstrate a clear understanding of your own work. Your cover letter should include a concise summary of your submission, highlighting its strengths and explaining why it would be a good fit for their publication. This shows that you have a deep understanding of your own work and can communicate its value to others.

Finally, it’s important to remember that a cover letter is your chance to make a great first impression. Use this opportunity to showcase your personality and enthusiasm for your work. Employers want to work with people who are passionate about what they do, so don’t be afraid to let your excitement shine through.

In summary, a well-crafted cover letter can give you a significant edge when submitting your work to a journal. By demonstrating professionalism, personalization, a clear understanding of your own work, and a passion for what you do, you can make a great impression and increase your chances of success.

Essential Components of a Journal Submission Cover Letter

Submitting a journal article requires a lot of effort, and a well-written cover letter can make all the difference. It is the first thing that the editor will read, so it needs to be engaging and informative. Here are some essential components of your cover letter that you should keep in mind.

• Your contact information: This is the most crucial part of your cover letter. It should be at the top of your cover letter and should include your name, address, phone number, and email. This information should be accurate and up-to-date so that the editor can contact you easily.
• The journal’s contact information: Next, you should include the name and address of the journal you’re submitting to. It is essential to double-check this information to ensure that it is correct.
• A personalized greeting: Address your cover letter to a specific editor if possible. This shows that you have done your research and are genuinely interested in the journal. If you don’t know the name of the editor, use a generic greeting such as “Dear Editor.”
• A brief introduction: Start by introducing yourself and your work, and explaining why you think it would be a good fit for their publication. You can also mention any previous publications or relevant experience that you have.
• A summary of your work: This is where you’ll go into more detail about your work, highlighting its strengths and explaining why it’s well-suited for their publication. You can mention the research questions, methodology, and main findings of your study. It is essential to keep this section concise and relevant to the journal’s scope.
• A call to action: Finish your cover letter with a clear request for consideration. Make it easy for the employer to take the next step by including your contact information and any additional materials they may need to review your work. You can also thank the editor for their time and consideration.

Remember, your cover letter is your chance to make a good first impression, so take the time to make it as strong as possible. Good luck with your submission!

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Writing a Journal Submission Cover Letter

Submitting your work to a journal can be a daunting task, but writing a cover letter doesn’t have to be. However, it’s important to keep in mind that there are a few common mistakes that you’ll want to avoid. By doing so, you’ll ensure that your submission stands out from the rest.

One of the most common mistakes that writers make when crafting their cover letter is being too informal. It’s important to keep in mind that this is a professional document and should be written accordingly. Avoid slang, contractions, or any other language that is too casual. Instead, opt for a more formal tone that showcases your professionalism and attention to detail.

Another mistake that writers often make is omitting vital information. Make sure that you include all the essential components we discussed earlier. Employers need to know who you are, why you’re submitting your work, and what it’s about. Be sure to highlight your qualifications and experience, and explain why your work is relevant to the journal’s readership.

While it’s important to provide all the necessary information, it’s equally important to be concise. Your cover letter should be brief and to the point. Employers receive numerous submissions, so it’s important to keep their attention and make an impact quickly. Avoid being too lengthy or including irrelevant details that could distract from the main message of your letter.

Another mistake that writers often make is being too pushy. While it’s important to be persuasive in your cover letter, avoid being too aggressive or presumptuous. Instead, focus on making a compelling case for your work. Explain why your research is important and why it should be published in their journal. Demonstrate your enthusiasm and passion for your work, but do so in a respectful and professional manner.

Finally, avoid sending a generic letter. Customize your cover letter for each submission. This will demonstrate that you’ve done your research and that you’re serious about this opportunity. Take the time to read through the journal’s submission guidelines and tailor your letter accordingly. This will help you stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of getting published.

By avoiding these common mistakes and taking the time to craft a well-written and personalized cover letter, you can increase your chances of getting your work published in your desired journal.

Final Steps On Writing Your Journal Submission Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter is an essential part of submitting your work to a journal. It’s your chance to introduce yourself and your work to the editor, and convince them that your submission is worth their time and attention. Here are some additional tips to help you make your cover letter stand out:

• Begin with a strong opening sentence: Start your cover letter with a sentence that grabs the editor’s attention and makes them want to read more. For example, you could mention a recent article published in the journal that inspired your work, or highlight a particular aspect of your research that you think would be of interest to the journal’s readership.
• Provide context for your work: In addition to summarizing your research, provide some background information on the topic you’re studying. This will help the editor understand why your work is important and relevant.
• Highlight your unique contributions: What sets your work apart from others in the field? Make sure to highlight any novel findings or approaches that make your research stand out.
• Show your enthusiasm: Let the editor know why you’re excited about submitting your work to their journal. This can help demonstrate that you’re a good fit for the publication and that you’re committed to sharing your work with a wider audience.
• Include a call to action: End your cover letter by thanking the editor for their time and consideration, and inviting them to contact you if they have any questions or would like to discuss your work further.

By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a compelling cover letter that will help your submission stand out from the crowd. Good luck!

Example Journal Submission Cover Letter

Are you thinking of submitting your work to a journal but don’t know how to write a cover letter? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here’s an example of a journal submission cover letter that can help you get started:

Dear [Editor’s Name], My name is [Your Name], and I am thrilled to submit my work titled [Title of Your Work] for consideration in your esteemed publication, [Journal’s Name]. As an avid reader of your journal, I was impressed by your recent publication on [Topic Related To Your Work], and I believe that my work would make a great addition to your journal. The [Title of Your Work] is a [brief description of your work]. The paper aims to [state the purpose of your work] and [briefly explain the methodology used]. Our research findings [summarize the key findings]. We believe that our work is significant because [state the significance of your work]. We would be honored if you would consider our work for publication in your esteemed journal. We believe that our work aligns with the scope and mission of your journal, and it would be a great contribution to the field. Thank you for considering my work. I have attached [any additional materials they may need, such as your manuscript or a brief bio]. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require additional information. Best regards, [Your Name and Contact Information]

In conclusion, writing a cover letter is an essential part of the journal submission process. It is an opportunity to introduce yourself, your work, and why it is a good fit for the journal. Remember to tailor your cover letter to the specific journal and highlight the strengths of your work. Good luck with your submission!

In addition to these important guidelines, there are a few other things to keep in mind when crafting your journal submission cover letter. First and foremost, it’s important to make sure that your letter is well-written and free of errors. This means taking the time to proofread and edit your work carefully, and double-checking that all of your information is accurate and up-to-date.Another key factor to consider is the tone of your letter. While it’s important to be professional and to the point, you also want to make sure that your personality shines through. This can be especially important if you’re submitting to a publication that values creativity and originality. Consider including a brief personal anecdote or a unique perspective on your work to help make your letter stand out.Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback or advice from others before submitting your letter. This can be especially helpful if you’re new to the world of journal submissions or if you’re unsure about certain aspects of the process. Reach out to colleagues or mentors for guidance, and be open to constructive criticism that can help you improve your letter and increase your chances of success.By keeping these tips in mind, you’ll be well-prepared to create a compelling and effective journal submission cover letter that showcases your work and sets you apart from the competition. Good luck!

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Three Cover Letter Templates to Journal Editors

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Aug 26, 2021 | How To Get Published | 0 |

Three Cover Letter Templates to Journal Editors Each cover letter is unique, and those addressed to journal editors by scientists and academics when they submit their writing for publication are no exception. As an opportunity to present original research in the best possible light, a cover letter is indispensible for persuading a busy editor that a manuscript is worthy of peer review. A letter can only achieve this goal, however, if it is well written, contains everything the particular journal’s author instructions request for cover letters and offers specific and detailed information about why the research reported and the paper itself are perfect for the journal and of special interest to its readers. The originality that should characterise an excellent cover letter therefore prevents the wholesale use of a universal template without significant alterations, but the three sample letters that appear below may prove helpful for scholars who are planning, formatting and drafting a professional cover letter to a journal editor.

The content of the three sample letters is entirely fictional, with the dates, names, titles and situations invented. The specifics pertinent to your own research, your manuscript and the journal you are targeting will give you the raw material to emulate these templates. The format of a traditional business letter has been observed, so contact information for the authors and editors has been provided as complete mailing addresses. This formality may not be strictly necessary when communicating with a journal editor via email, where such details are often truncated, but the complete forms are always acceptable, and proper names and titles are a necessity. If possible, the official letterhead of the university, department or other research body with which you are affiliated should be used along with your name, phone number and professional email address.

Descriptions of the research and manuscript in each of the three examples have been kept simple so that the meaning will be clear to readers of all specialisations, but there are certainly successful cover letters that delve into a good deal more detail. Letter 2 below, for instance, might productively say more about the specific lights used and tomato plants grown and provide numbers and percentages as well. Do keep in mind, however, that the clarity and accessibility offered by a short and simple approach is also valuable, particularly when writing to an editor who may not share your precise specialisation.

Letter 1 adopts the perspective of a doctoral candidate who has rewritten the literature review chapter of his thesis as a bibliographical study and is seeking publication for the first time. Letter 2 introduces a research paper written by several authors and demonstrates how to act as the corresponding author when submitting a multi-author manuscript. Letter 3 posits that the author met the journal editor at a recent conference where an earlier version of the paper now being submitted for a theme issue of the journal was presented.

Download –> Letter 1: A Doctoral Candidate Seeking His First Publication

Joe Student Department of English University of the Western Shore San Francisco, CA, USA 98765 777-999-8888 [email protected]

Dr. Brian Editing Editor-in-Chief Journal of Analytical Middle English Bibliography New York, NY, USA 12345 [email protected]

November 8, 2017

Dear Dr. Editing,

I am writing to submit my article entitled ‘A Bibliography of Hoccleve Studies from the Fifteenth Century to 2017: Patterns of Readership and Response’ for publication in the   Journal of Analytical Middle English Bibliography . This manuscript is based on a chapter of my doctoral thesis, supervised by Dr Hoccleve Specialist, and has not been published or submitted elsewhere for consideration.

I believe this manuscript is appropriate for the   Journal of Analytical Middle English Bibliography   because it combines a complete list and critical summary of previous studies with an in-depth analysis of not only individual contributions, but also the larger patterns of scholarship and their possible significance through the centuries. As I argue in the paper, the autobiographical nature of Hoccleve’s writing and the bouts of madness he claims to have experienced are topics upon which perspectives and approaches swing on a particularly long pendulum. Shifts in opinion regarding the literary quality of Hoccleve’s poetry are similarly striking. Current trends and the annotated Hoccleve bibliography will likely prove of special interest to many of your readers, enabling future research and encouraging scholarly self-awareness.

If you decide to consider the manuscript for publication, I suggest the following two experts as qualified reviewers:

Dr. Medieval Scholarship Professor of English, Southern University [email protected]

Dr. Manuscript Expert Director of Medieval Studies, Northern University [email protected]

Many thanks for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

Joe Student

Joe Student Ph.D. Candidate and Teaching Assistant Department of English University of the Western Shore

Download –> Letter 2: A Corresponding Author Submitting an Article Written by Several Researchers

Jane Researcher Private Plant Research Institute 9201 Pink Greenhouse Place Coquitlam, BC, Canada, V0V 1A1 604-604-6044 [email protected]

Dr Samuel Botanist Managing Editor Growing Our Greenhouse: A Journal of Current Research 2020 Glass Hill Colorado Springs, CO, USA, 59678 [email protected]

November 22, 2017

Dear Dr Botanist,

I am delighted to submit an original research article entitled ‘LED Lights Increase Vitamin C Content in Greenhouse Cherry Tomatoes’ for publication in   Growing Our Greenhouse: A Journal of Current Research . My colleagues and I at the Private Plant Research Institute in Coquitlam conducted the research and coauthored the manuscript; a full list of the names and affiliations of all ten coauthors is attached. We have all approved the manuscript for submission to   Growing Our Greenhouse , and I have been chosen as the corresponding author.

The article is particularly appropriate for the journal’s section dedicated to the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. It is, in fact, a continuation of the research presented in our article ‘Can LED Lights Really Replace the Sun for Tomatoes?’ which was published in that section of   Growing Our Greenhouse   two years ago. Then we were analysing the results of our first two seasons of growing tomatoes under LED lights. One of the unexpected discoveries we made as we determined which plants and lights produced the best results was that vitamin C content appeared to increase when the ripening fruit was exposed to LED light.

The research reported in the manuscript I am submitting today was designed to investigate further the apparent increases in vitamin C. Its methodology is similar to that of our earlier study, but we used only those cherry tomato plants that we had already shown could thrive under LED lights. We also established a larger number of experimental groups to explore the effects of variables such as light colour, light intensity, hours of exposure, ambient temperature and presence or absence of sunlight. Our findings were convincing to say the least, with vitamin C content doubling and sometimes trebling in fruit exposed to additional LED light. Even fruit given only LED lighting and deprived of all natural sunlight far exceeded the vitamin C content of those tomatoes exposed to natural sunlight alone.

We trust that your readers will find our hands-on empirical method as effective as they have in the past and benefit from our practices and discoveries as they grow and experiment in their own greenhouses.

Thank you for your continuing interest and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Jane Researcher

Jane Researcher Research Director, Private Plant Research Institute

Download –> Letter 3: A Conference Participant Submitting a Paper to the Journal Editor She Met

Sheila Presenter Chair, School of Business Management Yorkshire University 2121 University Road York, North Yorkshire, UK, YO33 7EE 01904 323232 [email protected]

Dr Margaret Publisher Editor-in-Chief Journal of Innovative Business Studies 178B West Central Avenue London, UK, EC9M 6BB [email protected]

25 November 2017

Dear Dr Publisher,

It was a pleasure meeting you and discussing our similar interests at the Business Management conference in London a couple of weeks ago. As promised, I have revised my presentation and am submitting it for your consideration for the upcoming issue of the   Journal of Innovative Business Studies   dedicated to management innovations. The new title of the manuscript is ‘Empathy as a Management Strategy Yields Significant Increases in Efficiency and Productivity.’

You might recall that we discussed the challenges of reshaping my presentation, which was designed to generate in conference attendees the emotional responses it discusses, to conform to the structural requirements of the   Journal of Innovative Business Studies . The journal’s author instructions were actually very helpful, and I believe the overall argument of the paper is now clearer as a result of the rearrangement. I also took a look at the recent   Journal of Innovative Business Studies   articles by Sally Scholar and John Researcher that you recommended. The former was particularly helpful and I have cited it more than once in my closing discussion. That discussion has benefited significantly from our long talk at the conference and I hope you do not object to my acknowledgement of your insight.

As you know, the research presented in the manuscript is original and has not been published or submitted elsewhere. My methods comply with the journal’s ethical standards, I have no conflicts of interest to disclose and I have removed all traces of my identity in preparation for blind review. I would respectfully request that Stephen Harsh not review the manuscript, however. His knowledge in this area is extensive, but you may remember from his comments at the conference that he does not share my approach to management or view my recent research with a positive eye. I believe the following two experts would serve as more appropriate reviewers of my paper:

Frederick Newapproach CEO, Management Innovations UK Inc. [email protected] Samantha Kindheart Chair, Department of Business Management University of the Wolds [email protected]

I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming conference in Leeds. In the meantime, let me take this opportunity to thank you for your interest and consideration.

Best regards,

Sheila Presenter

Sheila Presenter Chair, School of Business Management Yorkshire University

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How to Write an Effective Cover Letter for Journal Submission | Example Cover Letter

When submitting your manuscript to a journal, it is important to include a well-written cover letter which could help your paper to reach the next level of the process. A good cover letter can voice your manuscript on behalf of you to the journal editor. You can take this opportunity to describe why your manuscript will be of importance and interesting to the journal’s readers, which is something that every journal editor looks for. Therefore, it is worth spending time to write a coherent and convincing cover letter for journal article submission. This article provides the best cover letter example format for your easy understanding.

Before start writing your cover letter, check the instructions for authors of your journal for any specific information to be included in the cover letter. Some journals suggest including few additional details in the cover letter.

The cover letter should claim that your article is a good fit for the journal and it should highlight your major research findings. Specify the theme or scope of the journal under which you are submitting the manuscript. The author should assure the editor that there are no conflicts of interest to publish your manuscript.

To help you with this, iLovePhD imparts you how to write an effective cover letter to a journal for research article submission, providing examples of what should be included, what should not be included, and a sample template of the cover letter.

Key points to include:

• Editor’s name (you can find this on the journal webpage ).
• Name of the journal
• Your article’s title
• Brief description of the novelty of the research and emphasis on your major research findings.
• A statement that your paper is not currently under consideration by another journal
• Contact information for you and any co-authors
• Confirm that you have no conflicts of interest
• A list of potential reviewers (If asked by the journal)
• Any researchers/reviewers who should not review your manuscript (If asked by the journal)

Points to avoid:

• Keep your cover letter to a maximum of one page (brief introduction and overview).
• Don’t copy your abstract into your cover letter; instead explain significance and novelty of your work in your own words.
• Don’t use too much jargon or acronyms; instead use simple, easy and straightforward language.
• Avoid spelling and grammar errors and ensure your letter is professional before submitting.

Example Cover Letter for Journal Submission

The best cover letter example for any publication (elsevier, wiley, IEEE, springer, pubmed, taylor and francis, and SAGE ) shown below:

Dr. / Prof. (Editor’s name)

Editor-in-Chief

Journal name

Dear Dr. /Prof. ( Editor’s name)

I/we wish to submit a research manuscript entitled “(title of research article)” for publishing in your esteemed journal. ( Briefly describe your research work in your own words. Don’t paste your abstract here. Clearly explain the novelty of your work and its significance and the reason to choose this journal for publication .)

I/we declare that all the authors ( all the authors’ name ) of this manuscript agreed to submit the manuscript to the journal ( Journal name ). We also agree to transfer copyright from the authors to the journal. The manuscript has been prepared as per the journal’s guidelines and checked for language correction.

I/we do confirm that this work is original and the manuscript is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Please address all the correspondence pertaining to this manuscript to me at ( email address ).

Thanking you

( Your name )

I Hope, this article helps you to know how to write an effective cover letter with an example to a journal for research article submission.

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How to write a cover letter to accompany your manuscript

In this post, we discuss some of the important points to consider when preparing a cover letter to accompany the submission of your manuscript to a journal.

What is a cover letter and why is it important?

Most journals require a cover letter to be submitted when you submit a manuscript that you wish to be considered for publication. A common thing that authors sometimes do, however, is to treat the cover letter as an afterthought, something to be written quickly, perhaps just copying and pasting parts of the abstract. This is a mistake. The cover letter is a vital part of the submission process – it may even be the only part of your submission that a busy editor at a top journal will read!

Bearing this in mind, your cover letter must capture a reader’s attention. That way, they may be sufficiently interested to go on and read your abstract, and potentially your entire manuscript. It is therefore essential to spend some time preparing your cover letter.

Tips on how to prepare the perfect cover letter

• Keep your cover letter brief – ideally, it should be no longer than one page.
• Address your cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief of your target journal. Their name can be found on the journal’s website.
• At the top of your letter, include the date, the Editor-in-Chief’s full name, and the full name of the journal. Make sure you use their correct title (for example Doctor or Professor) – and make sure you spell their name correctly!
• The letter itself should begin with “Dear” and the title and name of the Editor-in-Chief.
• Your cover letter should focus on what is original or unique about your work and the question or problem your research has addressed. Importantly, you should make it clear why your manuscript will be of interest to the readership of your target journal.
• If you and your co-authors have no competing interests to declare, you should add a sentence saying this. You should also state that all authors have agreed to the manuscript being submitted, and that it is not under consideration for publication in another journal.
• To end your cover letter, sign off with “Yours Sincerely”, followed by your title (for example Doctor or Professor) and your full name. This should be followed by your contact details – your professional email address will usually be sufficient.

Common errors to avoid when preparing your cover letter

• Don’t be tempted to simply copy and paste some (or all!) of your abstract.
• Don’t describe your manuscript as a “first draft”.
• Don’t write “Please find attached…” Instead, write something like “We are writing with regard to our manuscript entitled “( the title of your manuscript )”.
• Avoid using too much jargon or a lot of abbreviations or acronyms.
• Check carefully for any spelling and grammar errors – ideally, have someone else proofread your cover letter before submitting it.

Further study for this week

If you have time for further study this week, try writing a cover letter for a manuscript that you are planning to submit to a journal.

And that’s it – some simple steps to follow to help you craft the perfect cover letter for submission with your manuscript!

Why Is A Cover Letter Important For Getting The Manuscript Published?

You often need to include a cover letter while submitting a manuscript to a journal. This is a good opportunity to highlight to the journal’s editor what makes your research new and important. The cover letter should also explain to the editor why your work is perfect for their journal and why it will be of interest to the journal’s readership.

A well-written cover letter can help your manuscript to reach the next stage of the process; being sent out for peer review. It’s therefore worth spending some time on your letter, to make sure it’s going to be effective.

Here are the Cover Letter sample example:

Now you can get a no obligation review of your manuscript by our expert team. Our team will advise you points of improvement for the manuscript which will increase chances of publication.

A Creative Cover Letter For Manuscript Submission

Should you include a cover letter when you submit a manuscript for journal publication? Of course, you do! Especially if the submission is unsolicited. That is you are cold-pitching an editor or offering something outside of the commission. Your cover letter will contain important introductory information, and contextualize what you are providing.

So, how do you proceed? Use our cover letter example as a reference point. Then customize it using the bonus cover letter writing tips.

Cover Letter Sample For Manuscript Submission in .docx Format

Download example (Word version)

Cover Letter For Manuscript Submission Example – Text Format

Dear Ms. Jeffries,

My name is Thomas Ninja, and I am a Ph.D. candidate studying Modern Culture at the University of Pennsylvania. I am submitting my manuscript titled, ‘The Cultural Impact of The Art of Ninjutsu’ for consideration as a Cultural Studies Journal research article.

This work reflects 9 months of research on the evolution of Ninjutsu from its use as a tool of covert warfare in Feudal Japan to its role in pop culture today. Along the way, I uncovered some meaningful connections between this metamorphosis and other socio-political changes that were also occurring in parallel. My research corroborates previous studies indicating that current events impact public embrace or objection to martial arts.

I believe this submission will be useful to your readers, as it addresses the topic of both modern and ancient using a unique phenomenon as a lens. The research stands to benefit students researching Pacific Rim Studies, Western Film and Pop Culture, and other phenomena.

I am submitting this work to you on May, 23rd, 2021. This work has not been published in another journal, nor is it in consideration for publication. I have informed my advisor as well as the two contributing researchers that I am submitting this work to you, and have obtained their permission to do so. Their names are listed in the attached document.

Please let me know at your convenience if you are interested in publishing this research.

Thomas Ninja

Tips For Writing a Great Cover Letter For Manuscript Submission

As you can see, this is a short cover letter . But it still packs a punch. In general, manuscript cover letters should not run too long as you are probably addressing a busy editor. The above means that every word should count. The follow-up tips will help you write your cover letter, format it correctly, and pitch it to the right publishers.

Get All The Right Information In

The person reading your cover letter will be looking for some specific information. Some of this will be in the header of your letter. But, there is a significant amount of data to include in the body of your letter as well. 

Use the following as a checklist:

• The name of the editor
• The name of the journal
• The title of your manuscript
• Date of Submission
• The type of manuscript you are submitting
• Information on your research
• Your methodology and instruments
• What your conclusions are, and their impact on your discipline
• Your contact information

Avoid Over The Top Descriptions

You are submitting an academic manuscript for publishing consideration. You aren’t selling a novel, pitching poetry , or convincing a hiring manager that you are the best fit for the job. Keep things formal and understated. (Even if you really want to get your research published!). Avoid using excessive superlatives to describe the research you’ve done or the work you are submitting. 

Don’t write your cover letter to include phrases like ‘groundbreaking’ or ‘disruptive’. Also, don’t bury the reader in pointless jargon. If it can be communicated in plain English, do that. If it cannot be, provide a simple explanation.

Keep it Brief

A cover letter for manuscript submission should be three paragraphs at most. Present yourself and your research in paragraph one. Use paragraph two to detail how and why your work is relevant. Add a third paragraph to cover any formalities. That’s it. You are good to hit Send. 

Confirm Your Permissions

The publisher will want to know that your work can be published without any issues. You need to assure them that they can. 

To do so, include a statement that addresses the following points:

• That you haven’t had the work published in other journals , or have permission from previous publishers.
• You have obtained clearance from other researchers to submit the manuscript.
• The manuscript is owned by you, and you have the right to submit it

Follow Instructions To a Dot 

Research the journal and publisher. They probably have specific submission instructions. For example, they may dictate that all work is submitted as a PDF document. Or that you send them a separate list of research links. Take a few minutes to comply, so that you don’t lose an opportunity to be published.

Final Tip: Have a Response Prepared

Publishing in academics journals can be an involved process. The publisher may have additional questions for you. For example, you may be asked for article examples from their journal that are similar to theirs. They may also ask to clarify your research methods. Identify what might bring up more questions, and have some answers prepared.

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The Perfect Cover Letter: Advice From a Lit Mag Editor

Today’s guest post is from Elise Holland, co-founder and editor of 2 Elizabeths , a short fiction and poetry publication.

When submitting your short-form literature to a magazine or journal, your cover letter is often the first piece of writing an editor sees. It serves as an introduction to your thoughtfully crafted art. As such, it is significant, but it shouldn’t be intimidating or even take much time to write.

As editor at 2 Elizabeths , I see a variety of cover letters every day; some are excellent, and others could stand to be improved. There are a few key pieces of information to include, while keeping them short and sweet. In fact, a cover letter should only be a couple of paragraphs long, and no more than roughly 100-150 words.

A little research goes a long way

Seek out the editor’s name, and address the letter to him/her, as opposed to using a generic greeting. Typically, you can find this information either on the magazine or journal’s website, or in the submission guidelines.

Read the submission guidelines thoroughly. Many publications will state in their guidelines the exact details that need to be included in a cover letter. With some variation, a general rule of thumb is to include the following:

• Editor’s name (if you can locate it)
• Genre/category
• Brief description of your piece
• If you have been published previously, state where
• Whether your piece is a simultaneous submission (definition below)

Terms to Know

The term simultaneous submission means that you will be sending the same piece to several literary magazines or journals at the same time. Most publications accept simultaneous submissions, but some do not. If a publication does not accept them, this will be stated in their guidelines.

Should your work be selected for publication by one magazine, it is important to notify other publications where you have submitted that piece. This courtesy will prevent complications, and will keep you in good graces with various editors, should you wish to submit to them again in the future.

The term multiple submission means that you are submitting multiple pieces to the same literary magazine or journal.

Cover Letter That Needs Work

Dear Editor, Here is a collection of poems I wrote that I’d like you to consider. I have not yet been published elsewhere. Please let me know what you think. Bio: John Doe is an Insurance Agent by day and a writer by night, living in Ten Buck Two. He is the author of a personal blog, LivingWith20Cats.com. Best, John Doe

What Went Wrong?

John Doe didn’t research the editor’s name. A personal greeting is always better than a simple “Dear Editor.” Additionally, John failed to include the word count, title and a brief description of his work.

There is no need to state that John has not yet been published elsewhere. He should simply leave that piece of information out. (Many publications, 2 Elizabeths included, will still welcome your submissions warmly if you are unpublished.)

John included a statement asking the editor to let him know what he/she thinks about his work. Due to time constraints, it is rare that an editor sends feedback unless work is going to be accepted.

Unless otherwise specified by the magazine or journal to which you are submitting, you do not need to include biographical information in your cover letter. Typically, that information is either requested upfront but in a separate document from the cover letter, or is not requested until a piece has been selected for publishing.

Cover Letter Ready to Be Sent

Dear Elise, Please consider this 1,457-word short fiction piece, “Summer.” I recently participated in the 2 Elizabeths Open Mic Night, and am an avid reader of the fiction and poetry that you publish. “Summer” is a fictitious tale inspired by the impact of a whirlwind, yet meaningful, romance I experienced last year. In this story, I gently explore the life lessons associated with young love, with a touch of humor. This is a simultaneous submission, and I will notify you if the piece is accepted elsewhere. Thank you for your consideration. Kindest Regards, John Doe

What Went Right?

In this letter, John includes all pertinent information, while keeping his letter clear and concise. In his second sentence, John also briefly states how he is familiar with the magazine. While doing this isn’t required, if done tastefully, it can be a nice touch! Another example might be: “I read and enjoyed your spring issue, and believe that my work is a good fit for your magazine.”

I hope these sample letters help you as you send your short works to magazines and journals for consideration. While you’re at it, I hope you will check out 2 Elizabeths ! We would love to read your work.

Elise Holland is co-founder and editor of 2 Elizabeths , a short fiction and poetry publication. Her work has appeared in various publications, most recently in Story a Day . Through 2 Elizabeths, Elise strives to create value and visibility for writers, through writing contests , events , and more!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

[…] view post at https://janefriedman.com/perfect-cover-letter-advice-lit-mag-editor/ […]

[…] To get into literary magazines, you need a cover letter, so Elise Holland lays out how to write the perfect cover letter for a literary magazine. […]

Love this! The letter is short and to the point, and covers all the necessary information. Great tips! I always worry that the only publishing credit I have is the winning entry in a short story contest through the local paper. Should I mention that? And writing conferences I’ve attended?

As Elise says, it’s OK if you’re unpublished. Don’t worry about it. But feel free to mention your winning entry. If the writing conferences would likely be known to the journals’ editors, you might mention one or two.

[…] recently wrote a full article on the perfect cover letter, here. Check it out for clear, simple instructions, along with sample […]

[…] publication. Her work has appeared in various publications, most recently in Story a Day, and at JaneFriedman.com.  Through 2 Elizabeths, Elise strives to create value and visibility for writers, through writing […]

Thanks for the concise and useful information! I’ve heard that it’s also a good idea to include a sentence or two that makes it clear that you are familiar with the kind of work the magazine has published in the past. Is this generally advised, or would you consider it nonessential unless specified in the submission guidelines?

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32 Sample Cover Letter For Manuscript Submission Journal

sample cover letter for manuscript submission journal .A good cover letter can help to “sell” your manuscript to the journal editor. If you choose to do so, please provide the name of the journal and the date of the decision letter. Example cover letter for journal submission. As well as introducing your work to the editor you can also take this . All authors have approved the submission of this manuscript.

A good cover letter can help to “sell” your manuscript to the journal editor.

A good cover letter can help to “sell” your manuscript to the journal editor. · begin your cover letter with a paragraph that states the name of the manuscript and the names of the authors. This is a great opportunity to highlight to the journal editor what makes your research new and important. All authors have approved the submission of this manuscript. Sample cover letter for submission of a paper to an spie journal. As well as introducing your work to the editor you can also take this . The cover letter is a formal way to communicate with journal editors and editorial staff during the manuscript submission process. …) indication you're submitting your manuscript, along with its title, and the . If you choose to do so, please provide the name of the journal and the date of the decision letter. I/we wish to submit a research manuscript entitled “(title of research article)” for publishing in your esteemed . Address the editor formally by name, if known. Writing a great cover letter for journal submissions · look for the right editor · open with a submission statement · target journal readers (and editors) · be . Example cover letter for journal submission.

32+ Sample Cover Letter For Manuscript Submission Journal . The cover letter is a formal way to communicate with journal editors and editorial staff during the manuscript submission process. If you choose to do so, please provide the name of the journal and the date of the decision letter. …) indication you're submitting your manuscript, along with its title, and the . A good cover letter can help to “sell” your manuscript to the journal editor. Cover letters can summarize your manuscript quickly for the journal editor, highlighting your most important findings and their implications to show why your .

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Assessment of Machine Learning Algorithms for Land Cover Classification in a Complex Mountainous Landscape

• Open access
• Published: 30 August 2024
• Volume 8 , article number  34 , ( 2024 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Gomal Amin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1700-115X 1 , 2 ,
• Iqra Imtiaz 1 ,
• Ehsan Haroon 1 ,
• Najum us Saqib 3 ,
• Muhammad Imran Shahzad   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3795-9832 1 &
• Majid Nazeer   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7631-1599 2 , 4  

Mapping land cover (LC) in mountainous regions, such as the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) area of Pakistan, presents significant challenges due to complex terrain, limited data availability, and accessibility constraints. This study addresses these challenges by developing a robust, data-driven approach to classify LC using high-resolution Sentinel-2 (S-2) satellite imagery from 2019 within Google Earth Engine (GEE). The research evaluated the performance of various machine learning (ML) algorithms, including classification and regression tree (CART), maximum entropy (gmoMaxEnt), minimum distance (minDistance), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF), without extensive hyperparameter tuning. Additionally, ten different scenarios based on various band combinations of S-2 data were used as input for running the ML models. The LC classification was performed using 2759 sample points, with 70% for training and 30% for validation. The results indicate that the RF algorithm outperformed all other classifiers under scenario S1 (using 10 bands), achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 0.79 and a kappa coefficient of 0.76. The final RF-based LC mapping shows the following percentage distribution: barren land (46.7%), snow cover (22.9%), glacier (7.9%), grasses (7.2%), water (4.7%), wetland (2.9%), built-up (2.7%), agriculture (1.9%), and forest (1.2%). It is suggested that the best identified RF classifier within the GEE environment should be used for advanced multi-source data image classification with hyperparameter tuning to increase OA. Additionally, it is suggested to build the capacity of various stakeholders in GB for better monitoring of LC changes and resource management using geospatial big data.

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Introduction

Land cover (LC) can be significantly altered by factors such as excessive agricultural development, rapid population growth, and the overexploitation of natural resources, leading to landscape degradation (Beuchle et al. 2015 ). The mountain environments worldwide, including the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalayan (HKH) range, are highly susceptible to various anthropogenic and natural hazards, such as climate change, tourism, urbanization, population growth, and economic development (us Saqib et al. 2019 ; Saini & Singh 2024 ). These mountain regions are prone to natural disasters like landslides, flash floods, earthquakes, and glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) (Bacha et al. 2018 ; Jamil et al. 2019 ; Xu et al. 2009 ). Understanding the LC patterns in such areas can help in identifying locations that are at greater risk of such kind of natural disasters and can aid in developing strategies to mitigate them (Saini & Singh 2024 ).

Apart from these natural disasters, the rapid population growth, excessive agricultural expansion, and uncontrolled urbanization in mountainous area have led to the overexploitation of natural resources, landscape degradation, and land deterioration. Understanding the LC features and implementing better management strategies for natural resources are crucial for sustainable development in the environmental, social, and economic sectors (Dang and Kawasaki 2017 ). Any adverse impact on the fragile mountainous environment can pose severe challenges for the large human population residing in these areas. Different studies have emphasised the importance of LC analysis for effective management of natural resources in the fragile mountainous environments (Satti et al. 2023 ). To examine such changes in LC with exceptionally high accuracy, remote sensing (RS) images classified with machine learning (ML) algorithms are considered as standard tools that are persistently used all around the world (Gargiulo et al. 2020 ; Jia et al. 2023 ).

A large number of ML-based LC classification algorithms have been explored over the past decade to produce accurate, up-to-date, and long-term LC maps (Zhang & Zhang 2020 ; Wang et al. 2023 ). For instance, artificial neural network (ANN) (Yuan et al. 2009 ), random forest (RF) (Gislason et al. 2006 ; Wang et al. 2023 ), classification and regression tree (CART) (Shao & Lunetta 2012 ), and support vector machine (SVM) (He et al. 2005 ) have demonstrated superior performance in mapping different LC types compared to traditional classifiers (Belgiu and Drăgu 2016 ). The RF classifier is particularly popular in the RS community (Xiong et al. 2017 ) due to its high accuracy, achieved by constructing multiple decision trees (DTs). For example, RF algorithm was used in Western Himalayas to classify vegetation types with an overall accuracy (OA) of 80%, considering topographic and climate variables for improved accuracy (Singh et al. 2023 ). Similarly, a study conducted by Zurqani ( 2024 ) for forest canopy cover using RF achieved an OA ranging between 83.31 and 94.35%. Moreover, Mansaray et al. ( 2019 )deployed both SVM and RF classifiers for mapping paddy rice in China using Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 images for the 2015 and 2016, and the RF classifier demonstrated higher accuracy (95%) compared with the SVM classifier (90.8%). Delalay et al. ( 2019 ) utilized CART, maximum entropy, and RF classifiers within the Google Earth Engine (GEE) environment for LC classification using Sentinel-2 data. The results showed that the RF technique had the highest OA (95%), followed by maximum entropy (93%) and CART (61%) in the mountainous region of Nepal. A recent study (Mahmoodzada et al. 2024 ) utilized the SVM and the multilayer perceptron (MLP) to map snow cover area in Pamir region of Hindukush with kappa coefficient of 0.75 and 0.83, respectively. Shetty et al. ( 2021 ) evaluated the impacts of training sampling design on LC classification results within the GEE, concluded RF outperformed both CART and SVM.

The selection of an appropriate ML classifier for LC mapping is a challenging task due to the large number of available algorithms, their varying computational performance, and the conflicting information about their OA. Additionally, the combination of spectral bands used as input can significantly affect the classification accuracy (Shetty et al. 2021 ; Xiong et al. 2017 ). Various researchers have explored the use of different spectral band combinations from RS data, such as Sentinel-2 (Silveira et al. 2023 ) to improve the LC classification accuracy (Gumma et al. 2020 ; Stromann et al. 2020 ). However, there appears to be a lack of published research evaluating the performance of diverse ML algorithms applied to Sentinel-2 imagery for LC mapping in the HKH region of Pakistan. The majority of existing studies in this geographic context have focused on classifying a limited set of LC types (Khan et al. 2020a , b; Qamer et al. 2016 ; Satti et al. 2023 , 2024 ). These investigations have typically employed single image and conventional classification algorithms for mapping within small sub-regions, often resulting in varying and even contradictory outcomes. For instance, in the current study area Khan et al., ( 2019 ) and Ali et al., ( 2019a , b) performed LC mapping for Gilgit city and Gilgit district in Pakistan, respectively, using Landsat data and maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) to identify five generic LC classes. This makes it challenging to compare the accuracy of the generated LC maps and identify the most reliable approach for this complex mountainous environment (Delalay et al. 2019 ). As of the time of writing this paper, there have been no published studies focusing on detailed LC mapping in the HKH region of Pakistan utilizing high-resolution RS imagery, despite the significant advancements in the field.

This gap in the literature underscores the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of a wider range of ML algorithms, including their computational efficiency and classification accuracy, when applied to high-resolution Sentinel-2 data for LC mapping in the HKH region of Pakistan. Such an assessment would provide valuable insights to support the selection of the most appropriate LC classification approach for this ecologically significant yet geographically challenging area. When mapping LC over a large extent (such as the current study area), researchers had to consider the key challenges regarding the processing of ‘big earth data’ and the availability of images (Satti et al. 2024 ). Previous researchers in the study area were limited in their ability to run ML classification algorithms due to constraints in computing power and storage. However, the utilization of GEE free cloud-based computing platform has enabled scientists to utilize the satellite data for large-scale LC mapping in a more efficient and effective way (Gorelick et al. 2017 ; Zurqani 2024 ).

The objective of this scientific study is to compare and evaluate the performance of various machine learning algorithms available within the Google Earth Engine platform for land cover mapping in the HKH region of Pakistan. This assessment will be conducted without any hyperparameter tuning, using the full range of spectral band combinations from Sentinel-2 imagery with a temporal aggregation method. Moreover, the final product generated from this study will be made freely available for users, facilitating broader access and utilization of the LC mapping results to support land management, spatial planning, and disaster risk management to achieve sustainable development in the region.

Material and Methods

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) located in the north of Pakistan is characterized by a remote mountainous environment, surrounded by the world’s famous highest mountain ranges, i.e., Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya. Administratively, GB is divided into ten districts, namely, Astore (5179 km 2 ), Diamer (6901 km 2 ), Ghanche (8525 km 2 ), Ghizer (12043 km 2 ), Gilgit (4009 km 2 ), Hunza (11343 km 2 ), Nagar (2993 km 2 ), Kharmang (2802 km 2 ), Shigar (8810 km 2 ), and Skardu (7200 km 2 ) (Amin et al. 2021 ) (Fig.  1 ).

Overview of the study area Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) overlaid over an elevation map derived from 30 m Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM). The inset map indicates the location of study area in Pakistan

GB can be broadly classified into five distinct ecological zones: dry alpine zones and permanent snowfields, alpine meadows and alpine scrub, sub-alpine scrub, dry temperate coniferous forest, and dry temperate evergreen oak scrub. Moreover, GB has an exceptionally complex mountain system, with approximately 90% of its area covered by rugged mountain ranges and glaciers, while the remaining area consists of arable land (Hussain & Bangash 2017 ).

The climate of Gilgit-Baltistan is influenced by both the monsoon season, which contributes up to 80% of the region’s summer precipitation, and westerly cyclones, which account for approximately 66% of the high-elevation snowfall. However, the steep topography of the Karakoram range diminishes the influence of these wind systems as one moves towards the northern parts of the region (Bolch et al. 2012 ; Rankl et al. 2014 ). Generally, the weather conditions are severe with cold winters and extremely hot summers. The region receives precipitation of approximately 200–2000 mm per year, varying in different elevation zones, whereas temperature ranges between 10 °C (in winters) and 40 °C (in summer) depending on the valley’s elevation range (Gilani et al. 2020 ; Nawaz et al. 2019 ).

Training Sample Selection

Nine LC classes (Table  1 ) were defined based on a detailed literature review of the study area (Ali et al. 2019a , b; Gumma et al. 2020 ; Khan et al. 2020a , b; Qamer et al. 2016 ; Rahim et al. 2018 ). Training and validation sample points for each LC class were selected through simple random sampling using high-resolution Google Earth imagery and the authors’ personal experience of the study area. During the preparation and verification of the sample points, the principles of ‘consistency’ and ‘reliability’ were carefully maintained (Hill et al. 2008 ). This involved minimizing the inclusion of mixed pixels by avoiding sample collection from the edges of LC class boundaries and fragmented landscapes (Hu & Hu 2019 ; Phan et al. 2020 ).

Auxiliary data available in the GEE, such as the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Digital Surface Model (DSM) (Tadono et al. 2014 ), Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) (Farr et al. 2007 ), and Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) night time imagery, were used to support the selection of training samples and improve the overall classification accuracy. Additionally, DEM-derived products, such as slope, aspect, and elevation, were utilized as supplementary data for visual interpretation during the training sample selection process.

In total, 2759 sample points were randomly divided, with 70% used for training the classification models and 30% reserved for validation and accuracy assessment. The distribution of sample points across the nine LC classes was as follows: water (341), forest (304), grasses (306), wetland (364), agriculture (389), barren land (467), built-up (197), glacier (176), and snow (215). The same training and validation datasets were used to evaluate the performance of each classification model.

Data Acquisition and Processing

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission (EC) launched the Sentinel-2 (S-2) satellites in 2015 and 2017 under the Copernicus program. The Sentinel-2A and 2B satellites have a revisit interval of 10 days individually and a combined revisit time of 5 days. The improved spatial and spectral resolution of the S-2 imagery has opened up new possibilities for environmental studies and monitoring (ESA 2015 ; Gargiulo et al. 2020 ). The twin S-2 satellites provide global coverage with 13 spectral bands, ranging from the visible to the short-wave infrared (SWIR) wavelengths, offering different spatial and spectral resolutions (Table  2 ). In the GEE catalogue, the Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data is available as Level-2A Surface Reflectance (SR) product, processed by running the sen2cor algorithm (COPERNICUS 2017 ). The Sentinel-2 Level-2A SR data within the GEE can be accessed using the code snippet ‘ee.ImageCollection(“COPERNICUS/S2_SR”)’, which provides 12 UINT16 spectral bands representing surface reflectance scaled by a factor of 10,000.

Figure  2 provides an overview of the image processing steps employed to map the LC of the study area. The methodology implemented in this study involved temporal aggregation of all available images within the study area to generate a composite image free from cloud cover. To mitigate the influence of monsoon rains and fresh snow on the classification outcome, a temporal frame ranging from 1st May to 30th September 2019 (152 days) and cloud coverage threshold of less than 20% was selected. This resulted in an image collection of 192 scenes, distributed across ten Sentinel-2 tiles. Subsequently, a 10-m spatial resolution cloud free image composite was generated by calculating the median pixel value from the entire image collection.

Flowchart of land cover mapping using Google Earth Engine. The developed methodology included the data acquisition and processing, training sample selection, and accuracy assessment for GEE in-build machine learning classifiers

The median function was utilized as the temporal aggregation method to minimize the impact of missing or gapped cells in the Sentinel-2 imagery. This approach is commonly employed in the literature to reduce noise, particularly along scene borders (Carrasco et al. 2019 ; Rudiyanto et al. 2019 ). For each of the 10 spectral bands considered, any pixel values identified as blanks were replaced by the median value of that band across all images in the acquisition period. This ensures that a pixel identified as blank remains as such only if all images taken during the study period have a blank value for that location. However, in this study, no blank or void pixels were identified after the temporal aggregation process was applied.

For Sentinel-2 image classification, ten scenarios with different band combinations were used (Table  3 ) based on comprehensive literature review (Adepoju & Adelabu 2020 ; Alifu et al. 2020 ; Li et al. 2020 ; Xiong et al. 2017 ). These studies have suggested specific band combinations that have shown promising results in LC mapping applications. By evaluating these band combinations against ML classifiers in the GEE platform, we aimed to identify the best performing classifier without engaging in any hyperparameter tuning.

Classification

The ML classifiers included in the current study were classification and regression tree (CART), maximum entropy, minimum distance, support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF). All of these classification models were implemented without any hyperparameter tuning, using the default parameter values to ensure a consistent comparison across all models (Table S1 ), as suggested by Maxwell et al. ( 2018 ).

CART Classifier

The CART algorithm proposed by Breiman et al. ( 1984 ) is a decision tree construction method that works on the principle of a dichotomous recursive segmentation system. The CART algorithm utilizes the Gini coefficient as the criterion for identifying the ideal test variances and segmentation thresholds to create a binary tree-based decision tree (DT) for classification. The CART algorithm operates by recursively splitting the training data at each decision node, known as the greedy splitting approach, to increase the homogeneity of the data in the resulting nodes based on a statistical test such as the Gini index. The Gini coefficient is defined as follows in Eqs. ( 1 , 2 and 3 ):

where P ( j | h ) is a randomly selected sample from a training set or relative frequency of category, n j ( h ) corresponds to the number of samples in category j when the value of test variable in the training set is h node, where n ( h ) is the number of samples in the training dataset with the test variable value of h , and j denotes the category number.

To be precise, the CART algorithm takes the training dataset and partitions it into smaller subsets recursively. This partitioning process continues until the smaller cells are grouped based on the same class label, with the maximum accuracy of prediction validated by the pruning value (Hayes et al. 2015 ; Mondal et al. 2019 ). The CART algorithm does not require parameters and has the advantages of fast operating speed and easy manipulation (Shao & Lunetta 2012 ); different studies have successfully deployed CART for classification of satellite imagery with promising accuracy (Hu et al. 2018 ; Johansen et al. 2015 ).

Maximum Entropy Classifier

Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) or gmoMaxEnt classifier in GEE is based on the maximum entropy principle to select the data with maximum entropy from all training sets (Mcdonald et al. 2009 ). It works best in a condition where the prior distribution and conditional dependency are unknown making it difficult to perform prediction with any assumption. Therefore, the gmoMaxEnt classifier utilizes a machine learning approach to perform spatial predictions using incomplete or limited training data (Moreno et al. 2011 ).

Minimum Distance Classifier

The minimum distance classifier uses spectral characteristics of the training samples which have been selected as representatives of the different feature classes. The Euclidean distance between the selected pixel values and the mean values of each class is calculated. Later, the candidate or selected pixel is assigned to the class with which it has the shortest Euclidean distance (Hu & Hu 2019 ).

SVM Classifier

SVM was described by Cortes and Vapnik ( 1995 ) which is commonly used in a range of RS applications (Rudiyanto et al. 2019 ; Stromann et al. 2020 ). SVM is a supervised machine learning technique that aims to find an ideal hyperplane that discriminates different classes from their decision boundary. During classification, SVM classifiers use an iterative process to allocate candidate pixels to classes by maximizing class separability from the training set and labels each pixel according to their nearest class in feature space (Boser et al. 1992 ; Tsai et al. 2018 ). The selection of the support vectors mainly depends on the choice of cost parameter C, kernel functions, and Gamma. The most used kernel functions include linear, polynomial, and radial basis function (RBF). A detailed description of the SVM classifier can be found in Melgani and Bruzzone ( 2004 ). The mathematical equations of linear, polynomial, radial basis and sigmoid kernel functions are listed below as Eqs. ( 4 – 7 ).

where k is kernel, j is the feature, \({x}_{i}\) are input data points, and \({y}_{i}\) are the corresponding output data points. In polynomial kernel, d shows the degree of polynomial, whereas \(r\) in the polynomial and sigmoid function is considered as bias term. \(r\) is the gamma term that presents in all types of function except linear which describes the impact of the training range. The model will be constrained and not be able to handle the complexity of data if the value of gamma is too small and contrariwise.

RF Classifier

Random forest (RF) is a nonparametric supervised ML algorithm (Lee et al. 2018 ). The RF classifier is a nonlinear, relatively fast classifier that acts robustly to noisy training data. The RF algorithm was developed as an extension of the CART decision tree method and generates multiple classification trees to improve the overall prediction performance of the model. It operates by using a number of decision trees (DTs), where each tree is created from an independently constructed random sample of the training data to assign classification labels to each class (McCord et al. 2017 ). The RF algorithm applies a bagging technique, randomly selecting a subset of features from the input observations for each decision tree to be grown (Belgiu and Drăgu 2016 ).

As mentioned in Ahmed et al. ( 2019 ), for each tree ‘d’ from total ‘D’ number of trees, select any random data from training dataset and create the random forest tree T d by randomly select ‘i’ point. This process must be recursive until the minimum node size is achieved. Combining the outputs of all trees as we get Eq. ( 8 ):

For the new prediction at any point i , the regression will be Eq. ( 9 ):

Methods for Accuracy Assessment

The accuracy of the LC classification was measured using various derivates of the confusion matrix, such as overall accuracy (OA), kappa coefficient, producer’s accuracy (PA), and user’s accuracy (UA) for each class. The OA represents the percentage of pixels that were correctly labelled by the classifier, while the kappa coefficient is a measure of the overall agreement between the classification results and the reference data, accounting for chance agreement. The OA estimation and the kappa coefficient were used to compare the classification accuracy of each machine learning algorithm across the different band combination scenarios, ultimately supporting the selection of the best-performing classifier. Additionally, the Pearson correlation (PC) coefficient was calculated between the OA and kappa values. The PC coefficient measures the statistical relationship or association between these two continuous variables, providing information about the magnitude and direction of the correlation, which can range from − 1 to + 1 (Benesty et al. 2009 ).

To further evaluate the performance of the LC classification models, we employed standard metrics including precision, recall, and F1-score (Saini & Singh 2024 ). These metrics were computed for each LC class, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the classifier’s ability to accurately identify and differentiate between distinct LC types. Precision quantifies the proportion of correctly classified samples within a specific class, while recall represents the proportion of samples from a given class that were correctly identified. The F1-score, a harmonic mean of precision and recall, offers a balanced measure of the classifier’s overall performance for each class, providing a robust indicator of the model’s effectiveness in classifying different LC types (Rapinel et al. 2023 ).

Comparison of Classification Accuracy of GEE Classifiers

The results show that the various ML classifiers achieved differing levels of OA and kappa index under the different band combination scenarios (Table  4 and Fig.  3 ). The 10-band set (S1, as detailed in Table  3 ) of Sentinel-2 data, covering the visible to SWIR band regions, resulted in OAs ranging between 0.59 and 0.79 and kappa coefficients between 0.54 and 0.76 across the ML algorithms. In the S2 scenario (Table  3 ), which utilized a different band configuration, the CART classifier achieved the highest OA of 0.73 and kappa of 0.69 (Table  4 ). In contrast, the S9 scenario, which used only the combination of Sentinel-2 bands B2-B4, did not perform well, with no classification method exhibiting satisfactory accuracy. The comparative analysis of the ML algorithms and band combinations provides valuable insights for the final selection of the optimal approach for the LC mapping task.

Five selected thematic land cover maps of the Gilgit-Baltistan in HKH region (with highest OA) produced in the GEE for the year 2019 using S-2 imagery, where ( a ) RF, b gmoMaxEnt, c CART, d SVM, and ( e ) minDistance

From the results presented in Table  4 , it is evident that the RF classifier generally had the highest OA and kappa values across all the evaluated scenarios. The SVM classifier had the second-highest OA and kappa values in some scenarios, but its performance was generally lower than that of RF. In contrast, the minDistance classifier exhibited the lowest OA and kappa values across all scenarios and among all the classifiers. The gmoMaxEnt and CART classifiers generally had an intermediate level of performance, with OA and kappa values that were lower than RF but higher than minDistance. To better represent and explain the results, the relatively low-performing scenarios for all classifiers were dropped, and only the top five scenarios were selected for further analysis and discussion (Fig.  3 ). This approach allows for a more focused and informative presentation of the most promising classification outcomes for Gilgit-Baltistan.

A PC coefficient of 0.9 with a p -value of 0.0 was observed between the OA and kappa values across all ML classifiers. This indicates a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between these two-performance metrics. The close correspondence between OA and kappa suggests that the kappa index was closely tied to the overall classification accuracy, such that higher OA values were consistently associated with higher kappa scores, and vice versa.

The analysis of individual LC class accuracies revealed several notable trends. The RF exhibited strong performance, achieving high PA of 0.97 and UA of 0.88 for the water class. In contrast, the SVM and minDistance were unable to match the UA and PA values attained by RF for this class. RF also demonstrated high UA (0.77) and PA (0.75) for the forest cover, as well as for the grasses (PA = 0.71, UA = 0.78). Among the classifiers, CART and minDistance showed the least underestimation for the grasses class, with UA = 0.55 and PA = 0.48. For agriculture class, RF achieved a high PA of 0.89 and UA of 0.78, while minDistance recorded relatively lower UA and PA values (UA = 0.60, PA = 0.65). The RF classifier also performed exceptionally well for the wetland class, with UA of 0.85 and PA of 0.79, whereas minDistance exhibited considerably lower UA (0.53) and PA (0.69) values. Interestingly, SVM attained the highest PA (0.93) but the lowest UA (0.59) among all classifiers for the barren land class. Similarly, for the built-up areas, RF achieved the highest UA (0.89), while minDistance had the lowest UA (0.32). However, SVM had the lowest PA (0.07), whereas the gmoMaxEnt classifier recorded the highest PA (0.68) for the built-up class. In the case of glacier classification, CART achieved the highest PA (0.59), while gmoMaxEnt had the lowest PA (0.14). RF, on the other hand, attained the highest UA (0.67), and minimum distance had the lowest UA (0.39). For the snow class, minDistance obtained the highest UA (0.97) and gmoMaxEnt had the lowest UA (0.75), while RF achieved the highest PA (0.97), and CART had the lowest PA (0.89). These findings suggest that classifiers utilizing a higher number of spectral bands generally exhibit more favourable UA and PA performance across the various LC classes.

Moreover, misclassification of LC classes was observed across all classification results. For instance, many barren land validation points were incorrectly labelled as agriculture, and similar issues occurred for built-up areas being mislabelled as water (Fig.  4 a–e). These misclassification patterns highlight the challenges in accurately discriminating certain LC types, likely due to spectral similarities or mixed pixels. Despite these issues, the comparison of OA and kappa index indicates that the RF classifier performed excellently among the five implemented algorithms, by exhibiting the highest and most consistent classification results.

Confusion matrix for best classification scenario with a RF with scenario S1, b gmoMaxEnt with scenario S1, c CART with scenario S2, d SVM with scenario S1, e minimumDistance with scenario S1. The LC classes are numbered 0 through 8, where 0 is water, 1 is forest, 2 is grasses, 3 is wetland, 4 is agriculture, 5 is barren land, 6 is build-up, 7 is glacier, and 8 is snow. UA represents user’s accuracy, and PA represents the producer’s accuracy

Moreover, we also compared and evaluated the classification performance of ML algorithms across different LC categories using precision, recall, and F1-score metrics (Fig.  5 ). These findings reveal that RF demonstrated superior precision, recall, and F1-scores for water bodies, wetlands, agriculture, barren land, and snow LC type. It achieves precision scores of 0.96, 0.83, 0.85, and 0.91, respectively. SVM and gmoMaxEnt also exhibit competitive precision scores, particularly in the water, wetland, and agriculture categories. However, all algorithms struggle to accurately classify the forest category, with significantly lower precision scores across the board. The minimumDistance algorithm consistently performs the poorest in terms of precision for all LC categories. When considering recall, RF again shows strong performance in correctly identifying LC class of water (0.94), grasses (0.67), and snow (0.98). However, SVM and gmoMaxEnt exhibit relatively lower recall scores, especially for the forest and wetland categories. The minimumDistance algorithm consistently has lower recall scores compared to other algorithms, indicating difficulties in correctly classifying various land LC. Comparing the performance of CART, it also shows mixed results across different LC categories. In terms of precision, CART performs relatively well for water (0.82), agriculture (0.71), and barren land (0.75). However, its precision scores are lower compared with RF in most categories. CART struggles particularly in the forest category, achieving a precision score of 0.57, which is significantly lower compared to other algorithms. In terms of recall, CART performs decently for water (0.86) and barren land (0.68) categories. However, it falls behind RF in terms of recall scores across most LC classes. It demonstrates challenges in correctly identifying instances of forest and wetland, with recall scores of 0.59 and 0.73, respectively.

Precision, recall, and F1-score comparison results for top five performing algorithms classification scenario against each LC class. The LC classes are numbered 0 through 8, where 0 is water, 1 is forest, 2 is grasses, 3 is wetland, 4 is agriculture, 5 is barren land, 6 is build-up, 7 is glacier, and 8 is snow. The vertical colour bar shows the accuracy of classification as low (0) with red and high (1) with green

Additionally, focusing on the F1-score (Fig.  5 c), RF consistently achieves high scores for water, agriculture, barren land, and snow categories, indicating a balanced performance in terms of precision and recall. SVM and gmoMaxEnt also exhibit competitive F1-scores for the water, wetland, and agriculture categories. Like the other metrics, the forest category poses a challenge for all algorithms, resulting in relatively lower F1-scores. The minDistance algorithm consistently performs the worst across all LC categories, while the CART achieves moderate F1-scores scores for water (0.75) and barren land (0.71) categories. However, its overall performance is lower compared to RF and SVM in most LC categories.

Comparing the performance among LC classes (Fig.  5 ), it is evident that the algorithms excel in different categories. RF consistently performs well in water, agriculture, barren land, and snow. SVM and gmoMaxEnt showcase strengths in water and wetland categories. However, all algorithms struggle with accurately classifying the forest category, indicating the inherent complexity of distinguishing forest cover. CART, on the other hand, lags behind RF, SVM, and gmoMaxEnt in terms of F1-scores across most LC categories. It struggles in accurately classifying the forest category, resulting in a relatively lower F1-score of 0.58. Moreover, the F1-scores algorithm consistently performs the poorest among all the algorithms, indicating limitations in accurately classifying LC categories.

These results suggest that RF is the most reliable algorithm across multiple LC categories, demonstrating superior precision, recall, and F1-scores. However, the performance of each algorithm varies depending on the specific LC class. These findings emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate ML models based on the target LC type. Further research and experimentation are required to uncover the underlying factors causing the observed performance variations and to refine the classification accuracy for challenging LC categories, such as forests.

Land Cover Classification of Gilgit-Baltistan

The classified maps (Fig.  3 ) based on ten different scenarios (Table  3 ) and five ML classifiers were visually the same and consistent, displaying all results was not possible due to limitation of space. Based on accuracy assessment (OA and Kappa), RF (scenario S1) was found to be the best ML classifier among all. Therefore, RF LC classification was selected as a final map and used for area distribution of each LC class in the Gilgit-Baltistan (Fig.  6 ).

Final classified maps of Gilgit-Baltistan produced by RF under scenario S1 in GEE Platform for year 2019 using Sentinel-2 Satellite data

The final RF-based LC results (Fig.  6 and Fig.  7 ) depict that barren land (33,201.77 km 2 ) is the largest LC type classified in the study area, followed by snow cover (16,275.59 km 2 ), glacier (5651.42 km 2 ), grasses (5141.72 km 2 ), water (3356.22 km 2 ), wetland (2063.60 km 2 ), build-up (1928.81 km 2 ), agriculture (1316.73 km 2 ), and forest (868.04 km 2 ).

Area estimates of each land cover class resulting from image classification using best performing RF classifier. The label on each bar represents the area of land cover class in km 2

The study area is predominantly classified as barren land, which is distributed generally throughout the region, while the snow and glacier classes were found to be distributed primarily across the northern and eastern sides. The agriculture class has a distinct distribution, concentrated along the river and stream channels, which also contain the human settlements and built-up areas distributed throughout the valleys. Forest and wetland classes were found to be concentrated along the high-altitude ridges and rangelands, mostly between the south-west and north of the study area, while grasses were distributed in the northern, southern, south-eastern, and north-western parts, comprising the alpine pastures and rangelands that are usually covered with snow during the winter months (approximately 6 months). The built-up class in GB is typically distributed in the valleys, surrounded by agricultural and uncultivated lands, with the most concentrated areas observed in the main cities of Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Chilas, and Gilgit (Ali et al. 2019a , b), providing insights into the landscape characteristics and human–environment interactions within the study area.

The district-wise area estimates of each LC class (Table  5 ) revealed that water is concentrated in Hunza district (1099.85 km 2 ), district Diamer has the largest area of forest (353.66 km 2 ), grasses (1162.57 km 2 ), and wetland (644.36 km 2 ), while the district Astore covers the largest area of agricultural land. Moreover, barren land and build-up were distributed largely in district Ghizer with an area of 7053.31 km 2 and 329.99 km 2 , respectively, while glacier (1751.57 km 2 ) and snow (4114.97 km 2 ) classes contribute to the highest area in district Hunza and Shigar, respectively.

Advantages and Opportunities of GEE Cloud Platform

Mapping LC features over large areas often faces challenges due to the limited availability and inconsistency of cloud-free satellite imagery. In this study, these challenges were addressed by employing temporal aggregation of Sentinel-2 imagery to create a comprehensive LC map for the Gilgit-Baltistan region of HKH. Previous classification efforts in this area had been hindered by the shortage of cloud-free images. The introduction of the web-based GEE cloud platform has significantly addressed the computational limitations that often hinder LC mapping in developing countries (Li et al. 2020 ; Zhou et al. 2020 ).

Few localized studies have been conducted in the study area, applying traditional approaches for LC mapping. However, as already mentioned, these previous efforts have utilized fewer LC classes or focused on easily distinguishable classes like barren land, forests, or water bodies in small sub-basin areas (Khan et al. 2020a , b; Qamer et al. 2016 ). Comparing our results with previous studies is challenging due to differences in methodologies and data sources. Previous studies in the area utilized Landsat-8 (L-8), Landsat-7/5/4, and MODIS products, while our study stands out as the first to utilize Sentinel-2 data. This is significant because Sentinel-2 offers shorter revisit times and higher-resolution imagery, enabling more accurate and practical LC classification in our target area.

The accuracy evaluation in this study demonstrates that the use of the GEE cloud platform enables robust and accurate regional scale LC mapping. GEE offers key advantages, such as the ability to quickly and precisely select sample points using supplementary data like socio-economic information, population, DMSP-OLS, DEM products, and satellite datasets, surpassing the capabilities of traditional tools. Moreover, GEE scripts can be easily enhanced for long-term monitoring of LC changes and driving indicators. Collaboration among stakeholders and agencies can further strengthen the capacity to address challenges like food security and flood mapping using open-source geospatial data. One such example is the SERVIR program, a joint NASA and USAID initiative that helps developing countries utilize Earth observation satellites and geospatial technologies (SERVIR 2005 ). A similar collaborative approach can be adopted in the Gilgit-Baltistan for improved planning and decision-making. The use of the GEE cloud platform has enabled the development of high-resolution, regional-scale LC products, overcoming the computational limitations that had previously hindered such large-scale mapping efforts (Faqe Ibrahim et al. 2023 ). This innovative approach provides a strong foundation for future LC monitoring and change analysis to support sustainable management in the study region.

Strengths and Implication of Our Land Cover Classification

The LC information on the nine classes mapped (Fig.  6 ) in this study is essential for improving our understanding of various earth surface processes in Gilgit-Baltistan. For instance, the delineation of water and glacier bodies can enable disaster monitoring of GLOFs, which are a frequent occurrence in the study area (Jamil et al. 2019 ).

During the current study, ML classifiers under investigation were not exhaustively tuned using their hyperparameters. Instead, the models were left to operate independently using their default input settings to map the land features based on the same training dataset. This approach identified the most efficient ML classifier, which upon further hyperparameter tuning could potentially achieve exceptional results. Choosing a set of optimal hyperparameters for a ML model is time exhausting process and is user-dependent which may affect the classification accuracy. Although default values for these parameters are usually suggested, to ensure that the accurate classification has been produced (Maxwell et al. 2018 ). The optimal parameters of the model vary from area to area depending on the quality of the dataset and the number of sample points, spatial distribution, and derivative features such as texture and spectral indices (Tsai et al. 2018 ). However, the limitation of less quantity of sample points in the current study was likely addressed and improved by the bagging method of RF classifier (Breiman et al. 1984 ) which performed very well in the current study. To overcome such limitations under various scenarios (Table  3 ), RF is considered one of the best ML classifiers and has been tested widely by many researchers (Gargiulo et al. 2020 ; Pradhan et al. 2020 ; Stromann et al. 2020 ). Thus, the current approach provides an opportunity for future studies in the Gilgit-Baltistan to select RF for LC classification, which upon hyperparameter tuning would provide excellent classification accuracy.

However, to estimate the extent of LC classes, various regional and global LC datasets exist which are prepared using different imagery (Landsat-5/7/8, S-2, and MODIS, etc.), algorithms, and with varying resolutions. Accuracy of these products is needed to be improved when applied at local or regional level (Wagle et al. 2020 ) and specially in the mountainous regions. Due to multiple differences such as input data, classifier type, data acquisition time, and spatial resolution, it creates poor agreement among different products when applied at the regional or global level. Thus, producing a reliable local or regional level LC classification products is essential and applicable. Figure comparing the multiple global LC models and current study results is included in the supplementary file (Fig. S1 ), which provide evidence for the stated argument.

During the study, few challenges were encountered, mostly pertaining to uncertainties between build-up, water, agriculture, wetland, and barren land mapping producing misclassification of these LC classes probably due to similar or alike spectral responses (Fig.  8 and 9 ). This problem was more related in villages where the houses are of masonry type with roofs covered with clay and sand (Rafi et al. 2016 ), causing misclassification among barren land and build-up class. Also, it was difficult to distinguish between croplands and seasonal grasslands using the S-2 imagery due to overlapping phenology signatures of agriculture, forest, and grasslands especially in case of their sparse presence (Fig.  8 a). We tackled these difficulties by acquiring high-quality samples from secondary data, as well as using the high-resolution Google Earth data (as reference). However, higher mapping accuracy would likely be achieved with larger and more accurate training datasets along with hyperparameter tuning of classifier (Ka & Sa 2018 ; Tsai et al. 2018 ).

Comparison of accuracy of various LC classes from current study results and with ESA WorldCover product based on Senitnel-2 and RF model at different locations. a , d , g show basemap from Maxar, b , e , h are results from current study, and c , f , i represent the ESA global LC product, whereas ( j ) is orthorectified image acquired using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in year July 2022 for location ( a )

Comparison of Sentinel-2 SR and wavelength (nm) response for each land cover classes at same locations. a Reflectance over median composite image used for land cover analysis. b Reflectance over single image acquired on 5 July 2019. The grey rectangles illustrate the wavelength ranges for each Sentinel-2 band

To establish a rigorous comparison and ensuring scientific validity of results of our LC model and global LC product, we utilized ESA WorldCover product (Chaaban et al. 2022 ; Zanaga et al. 2022 ) which has same spatial resolutions and is also produced using RF model with OA of 74.4% (Fig.  8 ). It is observed that our RF-based LC model achieves superior results at the local scale and can further improve with hyperparameter tuning. For instance, Fig.  8 a–c reveals agricultural fields that are clearly visible and accurately mapped by our model. In contrast, the ESA WorldCover has inaccurately classified these areas as shrubland or grasslands. The reference image (Fig.  8 j) acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the same area further corroborates the accurate mapping of agricultural fields by our model. Also, Fig.  8 d–f illustrates an example where a barren land (braided river) was misclassified as water by WorldCover product (Fig.  7 f), while the same extent is accurately mapped by current study model (Fig.  8 e). Additionally, Fig.  8 i highlights areas of misclassification compared to Fig.  8 g–h, where the water class (water stream/river) in Fig.  8 i was misclassified as shrubs, trees, and bare classes. Nevertheless, the ESA world cover product has better resolution as compared with other global products, but producing global scale LC maps still remains a challenge. In such cases, regional-level studies prove to be a better option, offering improved efficiency and OA of LC products. Practitioners at the local and regional level can utilize regional accurate data products for planning and designing new development programs for local communities.

Another aspect of current classification is the use of median operation for temporal aggregation of satellite imagery which might influence the overall classification accuracy. The use of median composite from Sentinel-2 data offers significant advantages LC mapping. To understand this, spectral response of median composite using all images (Fig.  9 a) and a single image at same locations is provided (Fig.  9 b). By combining data from multiple acquisitions, the median composite effectively reduces the impact of atmospheric conditions and minimizes temporal variability, resulting in more accurate and reliable reflectance values. The response of LC classes remained equivalent without showing irregular responses which suggests that the median composite has no erroneous data which might have negatively influenced the overall classification. However, there is an observed overlap in the median composite SWIR region (Band 12) for snow and water (Fig.  9 a), which can be attributed the common physical properties of these two materials, such as their high reflectance in the NIR region and their relatively low absorption in the SWIR region (Shao et al. 2020 ). However, RF is well suited for tackling the challenge of overlapping reflectance values among various LC classes by employing ensemble learning. RF combines multiple decision trees trained on random subsets of the data from all bands, introducing diversity into the model. This allows the algorithm to capture a broader range of spectral patterns and features beyond the overlapping wavelengths, enhancing the discrimination between snow and water. Also, previous studies (Phan et al. 2020 ; Xie et al. 2019 ) have also validated the accuracy of median operation for preparing composite image.

Conclusions

The Sentinel-2 is exceptional among presently operating Earth-observation satellites due to its wide spectral wavelength, its 10 m spatial resolution, and revisit time. This study represents a first assessment and evaluation of five ML algorithms using GEE to classify LC classes using temporally aggregated Sentinel-2 data for the year 2019 (May–September) based on ten scenarios (50 LC products) over a complex mountainous environment. The five tested ML algorithms produced OA ranging between 0.59 and 0.79, without any hyperparameter tuning. Among these classifiers, two of the ML algorithms, RF and gmoMaxEnt performed exceptionally well with scenario S1, while CART (S2 scenario) and SVM (S1 scenario) performed ordinary with a difference of OA of 0.06 and 0.14 as compared with RF classifier (S1 scenario), respectively.

Moreover, the current study has compared GEE’s in-build ML algorithms using default input parameter values to remove biasness among classifiers, providing consistent environment. Doing so, the OA-based evaluation identified RF classifier best suitable for mapping mountainous areas like Gilgit-Baltistan with complex mountain system. Therefore, in the future, the best identified RF classifier with scenario S1 within GEE environment should be used for advance multi-source data image classification with hyperparameter tuning to increase overall OA and better prediction. Also, it is suggested to build the capacity of various stakeholders in Gilgit-Baltistan for better monitoring the LC changes and resource management using big data coupled with the GEE cloud platform. 

Data Availability

The final land cover product and code is available at https://github.com/gomalhunzai/Gilgit-Baltistan-LandCover-GEE . Additional data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank ESA for providing Copernicus Seninel-2 data and ESA WorldCover project [2020] and GEE team for provision of sample code and cloud computing platform for analysis. The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Earth Engine Data Catalog. The authors would also like to thank JAXA team for provision of ALOS DSM ( https://ror.org/059yhyy33 ) and NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center for DMPS/OLS ( https://ror.org/02z5nhe81 ) data and Google Earth team for high-resolution imagery. The author would also like to thank the respective institutions for providing environment and platform for conducting the research.

Open access funding provided by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University This work is supported by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Start-up Fund for RAPs under the Strategic Hiring Scheme [Project ID: P0044784] and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development [Project ID: 1-BBG2].

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Earth and Atmospheric Remote Sensing Lab (EARL), Department of Meteorology, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, 45550, Pakistan

Gomal Amin, Iqra Imtiaz, Ehsan Haroon & Muhammad Imran Shahzad

Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China

Gomal Amin & Majid Nazeer

Department of Environmental Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, 15320, Pakistan

Najum us Saqib

Research Institute of Land and Space, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China

Majid Nazeer

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Correspondence to Gomal Amin .

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Amin, G., Imtiaz, I., Haroon, E. et al. Assessment of Machine Learning Algorithms for Land Cover Classification in a Complex Mountainous Landscape. J geovis spat anal 8 , 34 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41651-024-00195-z

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Accepted : 19 August 2024

Published : 30 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s41651-024-00195-z

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