Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in Smallholder Irrigation and Land Management
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land–Climate Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 134
Special Issue Editors
2. Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AEnRI), Agricultural Research Centre, Giza 12618, Egypt
Interests: irrigation management; deficit irrigation; water stress; water relations; water productivity; water saving; evapotranspiration modeling; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. Structural Diagnostics and Analysis Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, Pécs 7622, Hungary
Interests: hydraulics; hydrology; water resources management; hydrology, water resources; hydrological modelling; surface hydrology; irrigation engineering
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Climate change presents growing challenges for smallholder farming systems, particularly through its impacts on water availability, land productivity, and the stability of irrigated agriculture. Increasing temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, recurrent droughts, and land degradation processes such as salinity and soil erosion threaten the performance and sustainability of smallholder irrigation systems. As smallholders play a crucial role in global food security and rural livelihoods, enhancing their capacity to adapt and build resilience to climate change has become a pressing research and policy priority.
The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together original research articles and review papers that provide insights into climate change adaptation and resilience in smallholder irrigation and land management systems. The Special Issue aligns closely with the scope of Land by addressing land–water–climate interactions, sustainable land use practices, and socio-economic dimensions of adaptation across different agro-ecological and institutional contexts.
This Special Issue encourages interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary contributions that integrate biophysical, technological, socio-economic, and institutional perspectives. Empirical studies, modeling approaches, remote sensing and GIS analyses, and comparative case studies from different regions of the world are particularly welcome. Contributions highlighting innovative solutions, policy-relevant findings, and locally grounded adaptation practices are strongly encouraged.
This Special Issue will cover, but is not limited to, the following themes:
- Climate change impacts on smallholder irrigation performance.
- Water scarcity, drought, and adaptation in irrigated smallholder systems.
- Sustainable land and water management practices under climate change.
- Climate-resilient irrigation technologies and innovations.
- Soil degradation, salinity, and land management adaptation strategies.
- Climate-smart agriculture for smallholder farming systems.
- Socio-economic vulnerability and adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers.
- Institutional arrangements and policy responses to climate change.
- Role of traditional and indigenous knowledge in adaptation.
- Remote sensing, GIS, and modeling approaches for climate adaptation assessment.
- Case studies and comparative regional analyses.
- Integrated land–water–climate management approaches.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and review papers.
Prof. Dr. Mohamed A. Mattar
Dr. Ali Salem
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. Land 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
- climate change adaptation
- resilience
- smallholder irrigation
- land management
- water scarcity
- climate-smart agriculture
- soil degradation
- remote sensing
- sustainable land use
- rural livelihoods
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