Land Degradation: Global Challenges and Sustainable Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

Land degradation—the long-term decline in land productivity, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience due to human pressures—is a critical global concern. While often associated with drylands, driven by climate change, unsustainable land use, and demographic growth, it increasingly affects subhumid and humid regions. These processes directly hinder progress toward several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 13 (Climate Action), and 15 (Life on Land). 

Effectively addressing land degradation at global scale requires international collaboration, integrated research, and context-specific strategies; however, key questions remain—how is international cooperation structured, and which cross-border initiatives have delivered measurable impact? Synthesizing such experiences is essential for advancing both scientific understanding and practical solutions. 

There is also a pressing need to strengthen interdisciplinary approaches that combine environmental, agronomic, socio-economic, and institutional perspectives as understanding what drives land degradation—and how policy, governance, and financing mechanisms influence outcomes—requires empirical, context-sensitive evaluations. Although the UNCCD and the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) agenda have stimulated national responses, many remain descriptive or self-reported. 

Meanwhile, innovation is advancing on the methodological front. Integrating the classical field and laboratory methods with geospatial and computational tools—such as remote sensing, UAVs, GIS, and AI—can produce scalable, robust insights in support of multi-scale assessments and land restoration strategies. 

This Special Issue aims to advance scientific and practical understanding of land degradation by bringing together original research and critical reviews from across the environmental sciences, land governance, geospatial analysis, and development studies.

We particularly welcome contributions that:

• Integrate field-based, geospatial, and computational approaches;
• Examine land degradation across multiple ecosystems and scales;
• Evaluate national and international policy responses toward land degradation neutrality;
• Explore participatory approaches and digital innovations.

By framing land degradation as both a biophysical and societal issue, this Special Issue aligns fully with the interdisciplinary scope of Land and addresses key concerns at the science–policy interface. 

Suggested themes and article types for submissions

1. Integrated approaches to land degradation assessment;
2. The drivers and dynamics of degradation across ecosystems and scales;
3. Land degradation neutrality and the Sustainable Development Goals;
4. Policy frameworks, governance, and institutional responses;
5. Knowledge co-production and stakeholder engagement;
6. Innovations in data platforms, modelling, and digital tools.

We welcome both empirical and methodological studies, as well as critical reviews that synthesize existing knowledge and outline future research priorities.

Prof. Dr. Weicheng Wu
Dr. Claudio Zucca
Dr. Eddy de Pauw
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. 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.

• land degradation
• sustainable land management
• soil quality and health
• remote sensing
• GIS
• artificial intelligence
• land degradation neutrality (LDN)
• policy evaluation
• participatory approaches
• interdisciplinary research