Leveraging Remote Sensing for Sustainable Watershed Management
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editor
Interests: water engineering; hydroinformatics; water supply systems; river engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The accelerating challenges of climate change, land use alterations, and water resource scarcity demand innovative approaches for watershed management. Remote sensing (RS), with its capability to provide timely, synoptic, and multi-scale data, has emerged as a transformative tool for sustainable watershed planning and monitoring. This Special Issue aims to explore how satellite-based and UAV-acquired remote sensing technologies can support hydrological modeling, land cover change analysis, flood risk forecasting, erosion monitoring, and decision-support systems in watershed contexts. By bridging geospatial data science and watershed sustainability, this Special Issue positions remote sensing at the forefront of integrated water resources management. Contributions should aim to fill knowledge gaps, advance methodological frameworks, and foster interdisciplinary solutions that align with global sustainability goals.
Watersheds form the fundamental unit for hydrological planning, environmental conservation, and ecosystem resilience. However, increasing anthropogenic pressures and climatic extremes threaten watershed health globally. Remote sensing (RS) technologies now play a critical role in monitoring the spatial and temporal patterns of watershed processes, offering efficient and scalable alternatives to conventional field-based approaches. Recent advances in satellite imaging, hyperspectral sensing, LiDAR, and cloud computing provide unprecedented opportunities for the precise analysis of hydrological phenomena, catchment degradation, and land use dynamics. The fusion of RS data with hydrological and geospatial models opens new frontiers in sustainable watershed governance.
This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research that leverages remote sensing for improving watershed sustainability. We invite contributions that explore methodological innovations, case studies, and interdisciplinary applications that support data-driven watershed management strategies. The subject aligns well with the journal Sustainability's core focus on integrating environmental monitoring, technological solutions, and policy-oriented approaches for sustainable development.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: Remote sensing applications in watershed hydrology and hydrodynamics; Land use/land cover change detection and its impact on watersheds; Erosion and sediment transport monitoring using RS-based indices; Flood forecasting and drought assessment with satellite data; Integration of RS with AI/ML for watershed anomaly detection; Water quality assessment using hyperspectral and thermal imagery; Remote sensing support for nature-based solutions (NbS) in watershed restoration; Use of UAVs and high-resolution sensors in small catchments; Coupling remote sensing with participatory watershed planning tools. We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Dongwoo Jang
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- remote sensing
- watershed management
- hydrological modeling
- flood risk mapping
- AI in remote sensing
- environmental monitoring
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