Drought and Water Quality Dynamics: From River Basins to Sustainable Management
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 6
Special Issue Editors
Interests: numerical modeling; water quality; biogeochemical processes in inland and coastal waters; dynamic process analysis; drought characterization and hydrological impacts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The accelerating impacts of climate change are intensifying the frequency, severity, and duration of drought events worldwide. These disruptions are no longer isolated anomalies but are increasingly becoming chronic pressures that threaten the sustainability of freshwater resources as well as the ecosystems and societies that depend on them.
Droughts affect much more than just water quantity. They profoundly alter hydrological processes, reduce river and groundwater flows, and trigger cascading effects on soil health, agricultural productivity, and the quality of both surface and subsurface waters. Reduced soil moisture and vegetative cover increase erosion and sediment transport, while declining crop yields often lead to intensified agrochemical use, exacerbating nutrient and pollutant loads in water bodies. Meanwhile, reduced dilution capacity during droughts concentrates contaminants, alters biogeochemical cycling, and increases the risk of harmful algal blooms and ecosystem degradation.
This Special Issue seeks to explore the complex and often underappreciated linkages between drought, land use, and water quality across spatial and temporal scales. We welcome interdisciplinary research that examines the following:
Climate-driven drought impacts on hydrology, soil function, and nutrient cycling;
Water quality degradation due to agricultural runoff, salinization, and contaminant accumulation;
Feedbacks between land degradation, crop failure, and water pollution under drought stress;
Innovative monitoring and modeling techniques to assess water–soil ecosystem interactions;
Adaptive water and land management strategies for drought-prone landscapes;
Case studies illustrating successful resilience-building approaches at basin or watershed levels.
We encourage contributions that integrate biophysical, socio-economic, and governance dimensions, recognizing that sustainable solutions require a holistic understanding of coupled human–natural systems.
By contributing to this Special Issue, you will help illuminate pathways toward more resilient water and land management practices in a rapidly changing world, where droughts are not just more frequent, but increasingly transformative.
Prof. Dr. Jorge Omar Pierini
Prof. Dr. Juan Camilo Restrepo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- drought
- water quality
- climate change
- water management
- hydrological dynamics
- soil degradation
- agricultural runoff
- water pollution
- nutrient cycling
- water-ecosystem
- water scarcity
- ecosystem resilience
- water-security
- crop stress
- agricultural water management
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