Water-Soil-Vegetation Dynamic Interactions in Changing Climate

Dear Colleagues,

Water, soil, and vegetation are the key elements in the Earth’s system. Their dynamic interactions affect, and are affected by, anthropogenic activity (e.g., grazing, farming, or urbanization) and climate change. For a given area, inappropriate land management practices can result in soil and vegetation degradation, which, in turn, will inevitably alter natural hydrologic processes. The possible consequences are more severe flooding, drought, and pollution of lakes and streams. On the other hand, an altered hydrologic condition tends to prompt soil erosion through wind and water, which, in turn, can cause further vegetation degradation or even loss. Such interactions will likely become more interwoven in changing climate because the non-stationary climate, superimposed on human interventions, can further deteriorate the already-altered hydrologic condition. With this regard, our understanding is very limited with few algorithms and parameterization schemes that can be used to account for these dynamic interactions. As a result, existing models were poorly designed to represent such important dynamic interactions. We invite authors to submit original field-experimental and modeling studies, as well as review articles that address: (1) interrelations between hydrologic alteration and soil and/or vegetation degradation with climate change as a possible additional factor; and (2) consequences from the alternation of natural hydrology in rural and urban environment.  

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Development or application of mathematical models and/or algorithms that link hydrologic processes with soil properties and vegetation characteristics;
• Examination of how, and to what extent, natural hydrologic processes have been altered by human activity versus climate change;
• Examination of how climate change and human activity affect soil water flow and transport processes;
• Analysis of threshold conditions for soil and land degradation to incept;
• Examination of physical mechanisms of heat-water-vapor movement and transformation in soils with a top dry layer;
• Examination of climate change effects on water-soil-vegetation interactions;
• Study of the fate and transport of pollutants in streams and lakes from altered hydrology.

Dr. Xixi Wang
Dr. Xuefeng Chu
Prof. Dr. Tingxi Liu
Prof. Dr. Xiangju Cheng
Dr. Rich Whittecar
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. 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.