Topic Editors

State Key Laboratory of Wetland Conservation and Restoration, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100093, China
Dr. Xiaocui Wu
Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Monitoring Environmental Degradation and Restoration of Arid Lands and Wetlands: 2nd Edition

Abstract submission deadline
31 December 2026
Manuscript submission deadline
31 March 2027
Viewed by
645

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Arid lands and wetlands are among the most fragile ecosystems worldwide, as they are vulnerable to climate change and human disturbances. However, they have received less attention in recent decades. Wetlands, occurring between terrestrial and aquatic environments, provide crucial ecosystem services for human beings and wildlife. However, because of climate change and intensified anthropogenic activities, they have been substantially degraded and, in some cases, have even disappeared. While arid lands are sparsely vegetated with low annual productivity, the services they provide to more than two billion people include significant crop production and forage for wildlife and domestic livestock. They have been identified as an important player in global variations in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Thus, the monitoring of the environmental degradation and restoration of arid lands and wetlands through remote sensing technologies and big geospatial data is necessary to better evaluate the evolution of ecosystems (positive or negative) and carry out corresponding protection and management countermeasures.

This Topic, “Monitoring Environmental Degradation and Restoration of Arid Lands and Wetlands: 2nd Edition”, aims to capture the recent advancements in the applications of remote sensing and big geospatial data in the monitoring of losses and gains related to global or regional arid lands and wetlands. Potential topics include (but are not limited to) the following: (i) automatic and accurate mapping algorithms (e.g., deep learning and object-oriented classification methods) for the monitoring of arid land and wetlands; (ii) the tracking of the spatial‒temporal dynamics of arid lands and wetlands; and (iii) the identification of the major driving factors for gains and losses relating to arid lands and wetlands, such as climate, land use, population, restoration activities, and socioeconomic factors.

Dr. Xinxin Wang
Dr. Yongchao Liu
Prof. Dr. Jie Wang
Dr. Xiaocui Wu
Topic Editors

Keywords

  • arid land
  • wetlands
  • environmental monitoring
  • environmental restoration
  • spatial-temporal dynamics
  • big geospatial data
  • remote sensing

Participating Journals

Journal Name Impact Factor CiteScore Launched Year First Decision (median) APC
Conservation
conservation
1.9 3.2 2021 23.1 Days CHF 1200 Submit
Diversity
diversity
2.1 4.0 2009 16.6 Days CHF 2100 Submit
Forests
forests
2.5 4.6 2010 16.8 Days CHF 2600 Submit
Land
land
3.2 5.9 2012 17.5 Days CHF 2600 Submit
Remote Sensing
remotesensing
4.1 8.6 2009 24.3 Days CHF 2700 Submit

Preprints.org is a multidisciplinary platform offering a preprint service designed to facilitate the early sharing of your research. It supports and empowers your research journey from the very beginning.

MDPI Topics is collaborating with Preprints.org and has established a direct connection between MDPI journals and the platform. Authors are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity by posting their preprints at Preprints.org prior to publication:

  1. Share your research immediately: disseminate your ideas prior to publication and establish priority for your work.
  2. Safeguard your intellectual contribution: Protect your ideas with a time-stamped preprint that serves as proof of your research timeline.
  3. Boost visibility and impact: Increase the reach and influence of your research by making it accessible to a global audience.
  4. Gain early feedback: Receive valuable input and insights from peers before submitting to a journal.
  5. Ensure broad indexing: Web of Science (Preprint Citation Index), Google Scholar, Crossref, SHARE, PrePubMed, Scilit and Europe PMC.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Journals
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
20 pages, 6620 KB  
Article
Soil-Driven Adaptive Strategies: Functional Trait Variation in Dominant Plants of a Karst Plateau Lake Shoreline Wetlands
by Yang Wang, Jintong Ren, Wanchang Zhang, Hong Zhao, Li Li, Ying Deng and Xiaohui Xue
Diversity 2026, 18(5), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18050260 - 27 Apr 2026
Viewed by 119
Abstract
Wetland ecosystems have been a central focus of ecological research for an quite some time. Nevertheless, the degradation of wetland riparian zones has markedly accelerated due to anthropogenic activities, climate change, and habitat heterogeneity. The objective of this paper is to investigate the [...] Read more.
Wetland ecosystems have been a central focus of ecological research for an quite some time. Nevertheless, the degradation of wetland riparian zones has markedly accelerated due to anthropogenic activities, climate change, and habitat heterogeneity. The objective of this paper is to investigate the differences in functional traits of riparian plants under changing wetland environments on a karst plateau, as well as to elucidate the adaptive strategies of wetland plants across different habitats. This study examines the Caohai Wetland located on the Guizhou karst plateau, selecting the leaves of four dominant plant species (Phragmites australis, Onopordum acanthium, Galium odoratum, Paspalum distichum) in the Caohai Wetland lakeshore zone and analyzes the influence of soil factors on the variation of plant functional traits within the wetland riparian zone. The results reveal that: (1) significant differences exist in the functional traits of dominant plants in the riparian zones of karst plateau wetlands, with complex interrelationships among these traits; (2) the coefficients of variation for magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) in the soil are notably high (79.53% and 67.21%, respectively), whereas soil oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) exhibits the lowest coefficient of variation (4.36%)—furthermore, the convergent variation in specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) directly reflects the strong environmental filtering imposed by this habitat—and (3) redundancy analysis (RDA) indicates that leaf length (LL), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area (LA), and plant carbon content (PCC) are particularly sensitive to environmental changes, while soil calcium (Ca), total nitrogen (TN), water-dispersible clay (WDR), soil organic matter (SOM), soil moisture content (SPMC), and total potassium (TK) constitute the principal soil factors influencing plant adaptive strategies in karst plateau wetlands. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that adaptation to karst wetland habitats is mediated through trade-offs in the allocation of photosynthetic products and the regulation of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) nutrient balances under calcium-enriched and phosphorus-limited conditions, thereby reflecting the response characteristics of functional traits in karst plateau wetland plants to environmental changes. Full article
Back to TopTop