Dryland Systems Under Global Change: Resilience, Sustainability, and Nature-Based Solutions
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 122
Special Issue Editors
Interests: remote sensing; GIS; GeoAI; cloud computing; environment; earth science
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Dryland systems represent some of the most sensitive and dynamic land systems under global change. Increasing climate variability, land degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss are intensifying pressures on these regions, affecting both ecosystems and human livelihoods. As a result, understanding the processes shaping dryland dynamics and identifying sustainable pathways for their management has become a critical priority in land system science.
The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) that provide insights into the resilience, sustainability, and adaptive capacity of dryland systems under global change. This Special Issue aims to explore how land-use practices, environmental processes, traditional irrigation systems, and innovative solutions, particularly nature-based solutions, can support sustainable development while addressing climate and ecological challenges. Special attention is also given to indigenous and heritage water management systems in drylands, such as khettaras and oasis-based irrigation systems, as valuable models of long-term adaptation and resilience. The topic directly aligns with the scope of the journal by addressing the interactions between land systems, environmental change, and socio-ecological dynamics.
This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:
- Climate change impacts and adaptation in dryland systems;
- Sustainable land management and land degradation processes;
- Nature-based solutions for ecosystem restoration and resilience;
- Traditional irrigation systems and indigenous water management in drylands (e.g., khettaras, foggaras, aflaj, oasis-based systems);
- Water scarcity, water governance, and resource management in arid and semi-arid regions;
- Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services in dryland landscapes;
- Land-use change and its environmental and socio-economic implications;
- Remote sensing, spatial modelling, and data-driven approaches for dryland monitoring.
We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.
Dr. Imane Serbouti
Prof. Dr. Mustapha Hakdaoui
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
- dryland systems
- climate change
- nature-based solutions (NbS)
- land degradation
- water scarcity
- water management
- earth observation of dryland water systems
- traditional irrigation systems
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