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Sustainable Future of Ecohydrology: Climate Change and Land Use
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Sustainable Future of Ecohydrology: Climate Change and Land Use

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 2264

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yanfeng Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
Interests: climate change; hydrology and water resources; ecosystem services; ecohydrology processes and simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Focus: The Special Issue on “Sustainable Future of Ecohydrology: Climate Change and Land Use” aims to explore the intricate interactions between ecohydrological processes and the dual pressures of climate change and land use alterations. It seeks to highlight innovative research that addresses how changes in climate patterns and land management practices impact water availability, ecosystem health, and biodiversity. This Special Issue will emphasize the development of sustainable strategies to mitigate adverse effects and enhance resilience in ecohydrological systems.

Scope: The scope of this Special Issue encompasses a wide range of topics including, but not limited to: the effects of climate variability on hydrological cycles, the role of land use changes in altering water quality and quantity, the integration of ecohydrology with climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and the application of cutting-edge technologies to monitoring and modeling ecohydrological systems. It encourages submissions that present novel methodologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and case studies from diverse geographical regions.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive platform for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to share knowledge and insights on sustainable ecohydrology. By bringing together a collection of high-quality research articles, it aims to advance the understanding of ecohydrological dynamics in the face of global change and to inform policy and management decisions that promote sustainable water resources and ecosystems.

Relation to Existing Literature: This Special Issue will complement the existing literature by focusing on the intersection of ecohydrology with sustainability challenges. It will extend current research by incorporating recent advancements in climate science, land use planning, and ecological restoration. The Special Issue will also bridge gaps in knowledge by examining the socio-economic implications of ecohydrological changes and exploring integrated approaches to sustainable development that consider both the environmental and human dimensions.

Contribution to Sustainability: The Special Issue contributes to sustainability by providing a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between water, ecosystems, and human activities. It supports the development of sustainable policies and practices by offering evidence-based solutions and tools for managing ecohydrological systems under changing climatic and land use conditions. It aligns with the journal’s broader goals of defining, quantifying, and promoting sustainability in various aspects of socio-economic and environmental development.

Dr. Yanfeng Wu
Guest Editor

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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • ecohydrology
  • climate change
  • land use
  • water resources
  • sustainability
  • ecosystem resilience
  • climate adaptation
  • hydrological modeling
  • biodiversity conservation
  • integrated water management

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 12866 KB  
Article
Integrating Spatial Autocorrelation and Greenest Images for Dynamic Analysis Urban Heat Islands Based on Google Earth Engine
by Dandan Yan, Yuqing Zhang, Peng Song, Xiaofang Zhang, Yu Wang, Wenyan Zhu and Qinghui Du
Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 7155; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157155 - 7 Aug 2025
Viewed by 442
Abstract
With rapid global urbanization development, impermeable surface increase, urban population growth, building area expansion, and rising energy consumption, the urban heat island (UHI) effect is becoming increasingly serious. However, the spatial distribution of the UHI cannot be accurately extracted. Therefore, we focused on [...] Read more.
With rapid global urbanization development, impermeable surface increase, urban population growth, building area expansion, and rising energy consumption, the urban heat island (UHI) effect is becoming increasingly serious. However, the spatial distribution of the UHI cannot be accurately extracted. Therefore, we focused on Luoyang City as the research area and combined the Getis-Ord-Gi* statistic and the greenest image to extract the UHI based on the Google Earth Engine using land surface temperature–spatial autocorrelation characteristics and seasonal changes in vegetation. As bare land considerably influenced the UHI extraction results, we combined the greenest image with the initial extraction results and applied the maximum normalized difference vegetation index threshold method to remove this effect on UHI distribution extraction, thereby achieving improved UHI extraction accuracy. Our results showed that the UHI of Luoyang continuously expanded outward, increasing from 361.69 km2 in 2000 to 912.58 km2 in 2023, with a continuous expansion rate of 22.95 km2/year. Furthermore, the urban area had a higher UHI area growth rate than the county area. Analysis indicates that the UHI effect in Luoyang has increased in parallel with the expansion of the building area. Intensive urban construction is a primary driver of this growth, directly exacerbating the UHI effect. Additionally, rising temperatures, population growth, and gross domestic product accumulation have collectively contributed to the ongoing expansion of this phenomenon. This study provides scientific guidance for future urban planning through the accurate extraction of the UHI effect, which promotes the development of sustainable human settlements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Future of Ecohydrology: Climate Change and Land Use)
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41 pages, 4334 KB  
Article
Land Use–Future Climate Coupling Mechanism Analysis of Regional Agricultural Drought Spatiotemporal Patterns
by Jing Wang, Zhenjiang Si, Tao Liu, Yan Liu and Longfei Wang
Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 7119; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157119 - 6 Aug 2025
Viewed by 527
Abstract
This study assesses future agricultural drought risk in the Ganjiang River Basin under climate change and land use change. A coupled analysis framework was established using the SWAT hydrological model, the CMIP6 climate models (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5), and the PLUS land use simulation [...] Read more.
This study assesses future agricultural drought risk in the Ganjiang River Basin under climate change and land use change. A coupled analysis framework was established using the SWAT hydrological model, the CMIP6 climate models (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5), and the PLUS land use simulation model. Key methods included the Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI), travel time theory for drought event identification and duration analysis, Mann–Kendall trend test, and the Pettitt change-point test to examine soil moisture dynamics from 2027 to 2100. The results indicate that the CMIP6 ensemble performs excellently in temperature simulations, with a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.89 and a root mean square error of RMSE = 1.2 °C, compared to the observational data. The MMM-Best model also performs well in precipitation simulations, with R2 = 0.82 and RMSE = 15.3 mm, compared to observational data. Land use changes between 2000 and 2020 showed a decrease in forestland (−3.2%), grassland (−2.8%), and construction land (−1.5%), with an increase in water (4.8%) and unused land (2.7%). Under all emission scenarios, the SSMI values fluctuate with standard deviations of 0.85 (SSP1-2.6), 1.12 (SSP2-4.5), and 1.34 (SSP5-8.5), with the strongest drought intensity observed under SSP5-8.5 (minimum SSMI = −2.8). Drought events exhibited spatial and temporal heterogeneity across scenarios, with drought-affected areas ranging from 25% (SSP1-2.6) to 45% (SSP5-8.5) of the basin. Notably, abrupt changes in soil moisture under SSP5-8.5 occurred earlier (2045–2050) due to intensified land use change, indicating strong human influence on hydrological cycles. This study integrated the CMIP6 climate projections with high-resolution human activity data to advance drought risk assessment methods. It established a framework for assessing agricultural drought risk at the regional scale that comprehensively considers climate and human influences, providing targeted guidance for the formulation of adaptive water resource and land management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Future of Ecohydrology: Climate Change and Land Use)
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21 pages, 6965 KB  
Article
Characterizing Drought Patterns and Vegetation Responses in Northeast China: A Multi-Temporal-Scale Analysis Using the SPI and NDVI
by Yuxuan Zhang, Yuanyuan Liu, Liwen Chen, Jingxuan Sun, Yingna Sun, Can Peng, Yangguang Wang, Min Du and Yanfeng Wu
Sustainability 2025, 17(12), 5288; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125288 - 7 Jun 2025
Viewed by 882
Abstract
Drought significantly reduces global agricultural productivity and destabilizes ecosystems. As the primary grain-producing region and a key ecological buffer zone in China, Northeast China is experiencing intensifying drought stress. However, the regional-scale characteristics of refined drought and the impact mechanisms on different types [...] Read more.
Drought significantly reduces global agricultural productivity and destabilizes ecosystems. As the primary grain-producing region and a key ecological buffer zone in China, Northeast China is experiencing intensifying drought stress. However, the regional-scale characteristics of refined drought and the impact mechanisms on different types of vegetation in the Northeast are rarely investigated. In this study, we analyzed the spatial and temporal characteristics of drought over 30-, 60-, 90-, 180-, 270-, and 360-day time scales in Northeast China using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) based on high-precision daily precipitation data simulated by CLM3.5 from 2008 to 2023. Additionally, we used the MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to elucidate the response of vegetation to drought across different land use types. The results showed that SPI-30 was the most sensitive for drought detection, and there was a clear trend of drought aggravation in the northern part of the Northeast region. The strongest correlation between vegetation and drought was found in September. A significant lag in the response of vegetation to drought was observed in May, June, July, and August, with the best correlation observed at a one-month lag. In addition, the degree of response to drought varies among different types of vegetation. Grasslands are the most sensitive to drought, while woodlands and wetlands have a weaker response. This study provides a reference for assessing the dynamics of refined climates at different spatial and temporal scales and offers actionable insights for ecosystem management in climate-sensitive agricultural regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Future of Ecohydrology: Climate Change and Land Use)
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