Globally, drylands cover about 40% of the terrestrial land surface. These areas are home to more than a quarter of the global population, including different biodiversity hot spots, and contain over a quarter of the world's forest area. They are faced with a multitude of challenges including recurrent droughts and water scarcity, exacerbated by climate variability and changes, land degradation leading to desertification, and loss of biodiversity. In many dryland areas, recurrent flash flooding is also a constant challenge, generated by runoff from intensive rain events in degraded adjacent and upstream highland areas.
To reduce environmental and human vulnerability in drylands and ensure sustainable intensifications, soil and water management efforts have been put in place across the globe. Research should support the sustainable management of soil and water resources in dryland areas through scenario analyses and the development and validation of contextualized soil and water management innovations. Restoration of degraded drylands through area enclosures, physical and biological soil and water conservation practices, and the use of deficit and supplemental irrigation are areas of research and development for sustainable intensifications whilst maintaining ecosystem functions.
The combinations of field experimentations, scenario analyses through qualitative and quantitative techniques, and modeling studies can provide wider information on the sustainable management of soil and water resources in dryland areas.
This Research Topic welcomes those engaged in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in soil and water management for dryland areas. Theoretical, experimental, modeling, and social studies falling in the following topic areas are welcomed.
• The main drivers and extents of soil and water degradation in dryland areas.
• The effects of appropriate soil and water management practices in mitigating the effects of climate variability and changes in drylands.
• Suitability mapping of appropriate soil and water management techniques for dryland areas.
• Lessons and success stories in different approaches to landscape restoration for drylands.
• Modelling and experimental works on the use of different deficit and spate irrigation techniques to support sustainable intensification in dryland areas.
Globally, drylands cover about 40% of the terrestrial land surface. These areas are home to more than a quarter of the global population, including different biodiversity hot spots, and contain over a quarter of the world's forest area. They are faced with a multitude of challenges including recurrent droughts and water scarcity, exacerbated by climate variability and changes, land degradation leading to desertification, and loss of biodiversity. In many dryland areas, recurrent flash flooding is also a constant challenge, generated by runoff from intensive rain events in degraded adjacent and upstream highland areas.
To reduce environmental and human vulnerability in drylands and ensure sustainable intensifications, soil and water management efforts have been put in place across the globe. Research should support the sustainable management of soil and water resources in dryland areas through scenario analyses and the development and validation of contextualized soil and water management innovations. Restoration of degraded drylands through area enclosures, physical and biological soil and water conservation practices, and the use of deficit and supplemental irrigation are areas of research and development for sustainable intensifications whilst maintaining ecosystem functions.
The combinations of field experimentations, scenario analyses through qualitative and quantitative techniques, and modeling studies can provide wider information on the sustainable management of soil and water resources in dryland areas.
This Research Topic welcomes those engaged in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in soil and water management for dryland areas. Theoretical, experimental, modeling, and social studies falling in the following topic areas are welcomed.
• The main drivers and extents of soil and water degradation in dryland areas.
• The effects of appropriate soil and water management practices in mitigating the effects of climate variability and changes in drylands.
• Suitability mapping of appropriate soil and water management techniques for dryland areas.
• Lessons and success stories in different approaches to landscape restoration for drylands.
• Modelling and experimental works on the use of different deficit and spate irrigation techniques to support sustainable intensification in dryland areas.
