Advances in Water and Soil Management Towards Climate Change Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

The journals Sustainability, Water, Agriculture, Resources and Climate have launched a multi-disciplinary Research Topic on “Advances in Water & Soil Management towards Climate Change Adaptation” and invite researchers, experts and professionals from Universities, Research Institutions, National and International Organizations, Local and Regional Authorities and Enterprises to contribute their research achievements in this field. The main aim of this Topic is to increase the scientific knowledge and understanding of the interactions between water/soil resources management and climate change impacts at local, regional, and global scales, which is a fundamental factor for reaching the goal of a sustainable society.

Over the last few years, we have been observing and monitoring the impacts of climate on the hydrological cycle and soil quality and the increasing pressure on environmental resources. As a result, many regions worldwide suffer from diminishing water resources, water pollution and soil degradation. We can already see how the ongoing climate crisis combined with continuous urbanization and the global population increase affects the water–energy–food nexus and threatens the health of both humans and the ecosystems. In this context, it is of great importance to increase water productivity and water security, identify optimum strategies and technologies to restore water quality, effectively reduce pollution and prevent crop damage under extreme climate conditions and different anthropogenic interventions. Various measures have been proposed, such as climatic water/soil adaptive agronomic practices and geoinformatics tools (advanced modelling, GIS and remote sensing applications), ecological engineering approaches to water and wastewater management and innovative technologies for water production from non-conventional sources, among others.

Thus, in this Topic, studies that focus on new developments in managing and modelling water and soil dynamics, including sustainable solutions for water supply and water/wastewater management, are of great importance. Also, new methods to assess and mitigate hydrological extremes (floods, droughts and soil/water erosion), especially in rural areas, will be primarily considered. Due to the increased water scarcity in arid and even mild climates, the efficiency of wastewater treatment and reuse is gaining attention, and new advanced and nature-based technologies are also becoming increasingly recognized. In this context, the efficient use of brackish and saline waters is becoming a priority as climate change accelerates. Therefore, new findings in wastewater management and the reuse of treated effluents for irrigation or recycling in industrial processes are a pillar of this Topic.

Dr. Nektarios N. Kourgialas
Dr. Ioannis Anastopoulos
Dr. Alexandros I. Stefanakis
Topic Editors