Karst Rocky Desertification and Climate Change Effect
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Erosion and Sediment Transport".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 1509
Special Issue Editors
Interests: land use and ecosystem services; karst mountains; ecosystem service tradeoff; soil water retention; ecological restoration; soil conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: karst areas; land systems; conservation of water and soil resources; terrace systems
Interests: karst rocky desertification; vegetation succession; water and carbon cycle; soil and water conservation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on the effects of karst rocky desertification and climate change on the ecosystems of karst mountainous areas, and identifies adaptation strategies such as the sustainable use and protection of terraces, the sustainable use of rocky desertification sloping farmland, and the protection of water and soil resources.
The shifting regimes of social-ecological systems (SESs) over long periods of time, in addition to their local effects and driving factors, play significant roles in future sustainability. This Special Issue is concerned with identifying the regime shifts of SESs as a result of changes in the relationships between the SES components in karst areas.
Karst habitats are characterized by extremely slow soil formation as a result of the underlying limestone; very shallow and patchy soil with low water retention capacity; and high porosity of the underlying limestone rock. Seasonal and temporary droughts occur frequently in the habitat due to uneven seasonal rainfall, shallow soil layers, and porous rock. Drought stress is a crucial factor that limits the survival, growth and distribution of plants in karst habitats. Due to the sensitivity of karst habitats, karst areas are more susceptible to climate change, such as changes in rainfall and rising temperatures. This Special Issue concentrates on the water cycles, nutrient cycles and vegetation changes in karst areas in the context of climate change, with the aim of understanding the evolution processes of karst ecosystems.
Dr. Jiangbo Gao
Prof. Dr. Yuluan Zhao
Dr. Yuguo Liu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- ecosystem services
- karst
- climate change
- rocky desertification
- vegetation change
