water-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Soil Water Use and Irrigation Management

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Water".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 9522

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Land Reclamation and Agrometeorology, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: irrigation systems; water needs of plants; irrigation water needs; evapotranspiration; sustainable development; agriculture production under irrigation conditions; air–plant–soil relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Land Reclamation and Agrometeorology, Faculty of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: irrigation of agricultural and horticultural crops, water needs of field crops; irrigation water needs; field crop evapotranspiration; agriculture and horticulture production under irrigation conditions; yield–irrigation relationships for field crops

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 31-120 Krakow, Poland
Interests: breeding; drought stress; seed science; fertigation; irrigation; in vitro culture; molecular markers; nutritional value; ornamentals; vegetables

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable management of water resources is becoming extremely important in the face of ongoing climate change. An increasing number of regions are faced with rainfall deficits and droughts, which strongly affect agricultural production. Using appropriate irrigation techniques for crops is crucial to keeping agricultural production at an adequate level and ensuring global food security. Therefore, this Special Issue focuses on the use of modern irrigation systems and sustainable rural development. It also includes methods to accurately estimate the water needs of crops, as well as to control soil moisture and ensure sufficient water for irrigation. Modern irrigation systems, their maintenance and operation, and the relationship between soil, water, and plants will also be discussed.

The main topics covered in this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following:

  • Water resource management;
  • Technical and economic problems of irrigation systems;
  • Estimating plants’ water needs;
  • Precision and water-saving irrigation;
  • Air–plant–soil–water relationship;
  • Irrigation and drainage systems;
  • Groundwater management;
  • Agricultural production under irrigation conditions;
  • Soil moisture and water content;
  • Innovative irrigation methods;
  • Water management in the face of climate change;
  • Spatial development and irrigation of rural areas.

Original research papers, as well as review articles, are welcome in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Roman Rolbiecki
Prof. Dr. Stanisław Rolbiecki
Prof. Dr. Barbara Jagosz
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. Water 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 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

  • water management
  • crop water requirements
  • soil hydraulic properties
  • sustainable development of rural areas
  • soil fertility
  • drip irrigation
  • soil and water relationship
  • evapotranspiration
  • precision agriculture
  • irrigation and drainage systems

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

23 pages, 6688 KiB  
Article
Electromagnetic Water Treatment and Soil Compost Incorporation to Alleviate the Impact of Soil Salinization
by Subanky Suvendran, David Johnson, Miguel Acevedo, Breana Smithers and Pei Xu
Water 2024, 16(11), 1577; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111577 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1647
Abstract
This study explores the effects of alternating current-induced electromagnetic field (EMF) on mitigating brackish water irrigation and soil salinization impacts. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of EMF on plant growth, soil properties, and leaching of ions under different conditions, including [...] Read more.
This study explores the effects of alternating current-induced electromagnetic field (EMF) on mitigating brackish water irrigation and soil salinization impacts. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of EMF on plant growth, soil properties, and leaching of ions under different conditions, including using brackish water and desalinated water for irrigation and soil compost incorporation. The experiment was performed with four types of irrigation water using soil columns representing field soil layers. EMF-treated brackish water maintained a sodium adsorption ratio of 2.7 by leaching Na+ from the soil. EMF-treated irrigation columns showed an increase in soil organic carbon by 7% over no EMF-treated columns. Compost treatment reduced the leaching of NO3 from the soil by more than 15% using EMF-treated irrigation water. EMF-treated brackish water and compost treatment enhanced plant growth by increasing wet weight by 63.6%, dry weight by 71.4%, plant height by 22.8%, and root length by 115.8% over no EMF and compost columns. EMF-treated agricultural water without compost also showed growth improvements. The findings suggest that EMF treatment, especially combined with compost, offers an effective, low-cost, and eco-friendly solution to mitigate soil salinization, promoting plant growth by improving nutrient availability and soil organic carbon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Use and Irrigation Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1440 KiB  
Article
Effect of Irrigation Water Quality and Soil Compost Treatment on Salinity Management to Improve Soil Health and Plant Yield
by Subanky Suvendran, David Johnson, Miguel Acevedo, Breana Smithers and Pei Xu
Water 2024, 16(10), 1391; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16101391 - 13 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5152
Abstract
Increasing soil salinity and degraded irrigation water quality are major challenges for agriculture. This study investigated the effects of irrigation water quality and incorporating compost (3% dry mass in soil) on minimizing soil salinization and promoting sustainable cropping systems. A greenhouse study used [...] Read more.
Increasing soil salinity and degraded irrigation water quality are major challenges for agriculture. This study investigated the effects of irrigation water quality and incorporating compost (3% dry mass in soil) on minimizing soil salinization and promoting sustainable cropping systems. A greenhouse study used brackish water (electrical conductivity of 2010 µS/cm) and agricultural water (792 µS/cm) to irrigate Dundale pea and clay loam soil. Compost treatment enhanced soil water retention with soil moisture content above 0.280 m3/m3, increased plant carbon assimilation by ~30%, improved plant growth by >50%, and reduced NO3 leaching from the soil by 16% and 23.5% for agricultural and brackish water irrigation, respectively. Compared to no compost treatment, the compost-incorporated soil irrigated with brackish water showed the highest plant growth by increasing plant fresh weight by 64%, dry weight by 50%, root length by 121%, and plant height by 16%. Compost treatment reduced soil sodicity during brackish water irrigation by promoting the leaching of Cl and Na+ from the soil. Compost treatment provides an environmentally sustainable approach to managing soil salinity, remediating the impact of brackish water irrigation, improving soil organic matter, enhancing the availability of water and nutrients to plants, and increasing plant growth and carbon sequestration potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Use and Irrigation Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 2532 KiB  
Review
Evaluation of Pedotransfer Functions to Estimate Soil Water Retention Curve: A Conceptual Review
by Umar Farooq, Muhammad Ajmal, Shicheng Li, James Yang and Sana Ullah
Water 2024, 16(17), 2547; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172547 - 9 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1984
Abstract
The soil water retention curve (SWRC) is a vital soil property used to evaluate the soil’s water holding capacity, a critical factor in various applications such as determining soil water availability for plants, soil conservation and management, climate change adaptation, and mitigation of [...] Read more.
The soil water retention curve (SWRC) is a vital soil property used to evaluate the soil’s water holding capacity, a critical factor in various applications such as determining soil water availability for plants, soil conservation and management, climate change adaptation, and mitigation of flood risks. Estimating SWRC directly in the field and laboratory is a time-consuming and laborious process and requires numerous instruments and measurements at a specific location. In this context, various estimation approaches have been developed, including pedotransfer functions (PTFs), over the past three decades to estimate soil water retention and its associated properties. Despite the efficiencies, PTFs and semi-physical approach-based models often have several limitations, particularly in the dry range of the SWRC. PTFs-based modeling has become a key research topic due to readily available soil data and cost-effective methods for deriving essential soil parameters, which enable more efficient decision-making in sustainable land-use management. Therefore, advancement and adjustment are necessary for reliable estimations of the SWRC from readily available data. This article reviews the evaluation of the current and past PTFs for estimating the SWRC. This study aims to evaluate PTF techniques and semi-physical approaches based on soil texture, bulk density, porosity, and other related factors. Additionally, it also assesses the performance and limitations of various common semi-physical models proposed and developed by Arya and Paris, Haverkamp and Parlange, the Modified Kovács model by Aubertin et al., Chang and Cheng, Meskini-Vishkaee et al., Vidler et al., and Zhai et al. This assessment will be effective for researchers in this field and provide valuable insight into the importance of new PTFs for modeling SWRC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Use and Irrigation Management)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop