Hydrological Signatures of a Changing Landscape: Land Degradation Impacts, Monitoring, and Restoration

Dear Colleagues,

Land degradation is a critical global environmental issue with profound and far-reaching consequences for hydrological systems. The alteration of land surfaces through processes such as soil erosion, compaction, vegetation loss, and declining land productivity directly impacts key hydrological processes, including infiltration, runoff generation, soil moisture dynamics, groundwater recharge, and water quality. These impacts not only threaten water security and agricultural sustainability, but also exacerbate hydrological extremes such as floods and droughts. While scientific understanding of these linkages has advanced, significant challenges remain, particularly in the consistent assessment and monitoring of degraded land at various scales. As highlighted by recent research, including analyses of Land Productivity Dynamics (LPD) using various global datasets (e.g., FAO WOCAT, Trends.Earth, JRC), discrepancies in estimations can hinder our ability to accurately model hydrological responses and implement effective mitigation strategies. Conducting research in this area is paramount for achieving sustainable water resource management and goals such as Land Degradation Neutrality (SDG 15.3).

This Special Issue of Hydrology, titled "Hydrological Signatures of a Changing Landscape: Land Degradation Impacts, Monitoring, and Restoration", seeks to collate cutting-edge research that addresses the intricate relationship between land degradation and the hydrological cycle. Hydrology provides an ideal platform for disseminating research on water resources and related environmental interactions, and this Special Issue aligns perfectly with the journals’ aims by focusing on how land surface changes directly influence water systems.

The goal of this Special Issue is to gather papers (original research articles and review papers) that provide insights into the complex interactions between land degradation and hydrological systems, fostering the development of innovative solutions and improved assessment methodologies. We aim to present high-quality contributions that not only highlight the current state of knowledge, but also explore future perspectives and strategies for mitigating the hydrological impacts of land degradation.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that address the following themes:

• Advances in Land Degradation Monitoring for Hydrological Applications: Innovations in remote sensing (including LPD assessments), field techniques, and data integration for the quantification of degradation indicators that are pertinent to hydrological processes.
• Quantifying the Hydrological Impacts of Land Degradation: Studies assessing the effects of various forms of degradation (e.g., soil erosion, vegetation changes, reduced LPD) on runoff, infiltration, soil moisture, groundwater, water quality, and hydrological extremes.
• Modelling Land Degradation and Hydrological Interactions: The development and application of coupled models, the incorporation of dynamic degradation data into hydrological simulations, and scenario-based analyses to predict future impacts.
• The Hydrological Effectiveness of Land Restoration and Sustainable Management: Research on the benefits of restoration measures, nature-based solutions, and sustainable land management practices for improving hydrological functions in degraded landscapes.
• Policy, Management Implications, and Case Studies: Papers that translate scientific findings into actionable strategies for land and water management and the achievement of LDN, and insightful regional case studies.

Dr. Barlin Orlando Olivares
Dr. Franklin Javier Paredes Trejo
Dr. Deyanira Lobo
Dr. Ingrid Teich
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Hydrology 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 1800 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.

• land degradation
• hydrology
• LPD (Land Productivity Dynamics)
• runoff
• soil erosion
• water quality
• remote sensing
• restoration