Climate Change and Soil Erosion: Challenges and Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

Soil erosion is the process by which the topsoil is detached and transported by natural forces such as water, wind, and/or gravity, often exacerbated by human activities like deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable farming. Soil erosion is a key driver of land degradation as it directly strips away fertile topsoil, and reduces soil fertility, water retention, and agricultural productivity. Soil and water conservation measures such as vegetation restoration, terracing, etc. are extensively implemented to prevent and control soil erosion, demonstrating measurable efficacy. However, intensifying rainfall, droughts, permafrost thawing, etc. under climate change led to strengthening rainfall erosivity and runoff scouring, reducing vegetation cover, and destabilizing soil structure, not only increasing erosion risks but also undermining soil and water conservation measures as a result. Moreover, climate change is challenging environments worldwide by subjecting them to conditions markedly different from those under which they originally developed. As a result, geomorphological disturbances and slope instability may occur, often triggered by extreme precipitation events or prolonged droughts. Understanding the evolution of climate is therefore essential for gaining insight into these processes and for developing effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. Conversely, soil erosion may contribute to climate change by disrupting natural carbon and water cycles. For example, organic carbon in topsoil is exposed to oxidation driven by erosion and releases CO₂ into the atmosphere. Furthermore, eroded soils lose their ability to act as carbon sinks through supporting plant growth. Moreover, erosion reduces soil’s water-holding capacity, leading to drier landscapes and reduced transpiration, which can disrupt regional rainfall patterns. Climate change intensifies soil erosion, while soil erosion exacerbates climate change, posing a great threat to the sustainable utilization of land and the healthy development of ecology.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to give insights into the processes and mechanisms of soil erosion and climate change and the interactions between climate change and soil erosion, with a focus on empirical analyses, field observations, and data-driven innovations. We seek to elucidate the mechanisms by which climate change exacerbates soil erosion and how soil erosion, in turn, intensifies the climate crisis via carbon release, ecosystem degradation, and other pathways. The issue also highlights innovative solutions and prioritizes themes such as synergistic benefits of sustainable land management strategies in mitigating erosion and enhancing climate resilience, impacts of soil health restoration on food security, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration potential, and the role of policy and governance frameworks in advancing cross-scale solutions, etc.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• What are the patterns, processes, and mechanisms of soil erosion under extreme rainfall events?
• How do climate change-driven extreme weather events alter soil erosion distributions, processes, rates, and patterns?
• What is the role of permafrost thawing in destabilizing soils and accelerating soil erosion in cold regions?
• How does the withering or death of vegetation caused by drought impact soil erosion in semi-arid and arid regions?
• How do extreme rainfall events undermine soil and water conservation measures, such as terraces, check dams, etc.?
• How does soil erosion undermine the potential of healthy soils to act as carbon sinks and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through carbon loss from degraded soils?
• What are the long-term impacts of soil erosion-climate feedback loops on agricultural productivity and ecosystem services?
• How do nature-based solutions compare to engineered interventions in combating soil erosion under climate stress?
• What advances in predictive modeling can enhance our ability to forecast erosion hotspots under future climate scenarios?
• How can payment for ecosystem services schemes promote soil conservation in climate-vulnerable areas?

More specific topics or questions could be added here.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Hongliang Kang
Dr. Hai Xiao
Dr. Bing Wu
Dr. Matteo Gentilucci
Guest Editors

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• soil erosion
• climate change
• extreme events
• soil and water conservation
• vegetation restoration
• terrace
• land management
• carbon cycle