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

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