Smart Sensing and Sustainable Crop Management Strategies for Agriculture in Arid and Semiarid Regions
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: smart agriculture; agricultural water management; crop management; soil management
Interests: water and nitrogen management; drip fertigation; soil mulching; plant–water relationship; crop productivity; resource use efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: agroecosystem modeling; climate change impacts and adaptation; environmental remote sensing; food–water–carbon nexus
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: crop yield; plant–soil relationship; n cycle; crop management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Arid and semiarid regions occupy more than 40% of the Earth’s land surface and sustain over one-third of the global population; however, agricultural production in these fragile ecosystems faces mounting challenges from water scarcity, soil degradation, and climate variability. Enhancing productivity while conserving natural resources is therefore critical to achieving sustainability.
Recent progress in smart sensing and digital agriculture technologies—including UAV-based remote sensing, IoT-enabled monitoring, data-driven modeling, and intelligent decision systems—has opened up new possibilities for precision and sustainable crop management. When combined with climate-resilient practices, optimized irrigation and fertilization, research into and application of slow-release/controlled-release fertilizers, conservation tillage, and diversified cropping systems, these innovations can significantly improve water- and nutrient-use efficiency, yield stability, and ecosystem resilience.
This Special Issue welcomes cutting-edge research, reviews, and case studies addressing smart sensing, sustainable agriculture practices, and crop management strategies in arid and semiarid environments. Topics include the following: precision resource management, stress detection and modeling, regenerative and conservation farming, soil–water–nutrient dynamics, adaptive root–shoot interactions, and integrated decision-support systems.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration across agronomy, remote sensing, environmental science, and intelligent technology, this Issue aims to advance high-efficiency, low-carbon, and climate-smart agriculture that ensures both productivity and sustainability in dryland regions.
Dr. Zhenqi Liao
Prof. Dr. Junliang Fan
Dr. Peng Zhu
Dr. Yüze Li
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- smart agriculture
- sustainable agriculture practices
- crop management strategies
- agricultural water management
- arid and semiarid regions
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
