Satellite-Based Assessment of Groundwater Dynamics and Their Biogeographical and Ecohydrological Implications under Global Environmental Change

Groundwater is a critical component of terrestrial ecosystems, sustaining vegetation productivity, biodiversity, and hydrological resilience amid increasing climatic and anthropogenic pressures. Recent advances in satellite gravimetry (e.g., GRACE and GRACE-FO missions) have revolutionized large-scale groundwater monitoring, revealing substantial depletion in key aquifers worldwide. However, linking subsurface hydrological variations to ecological and evolutionary processes remains a major challenge. Understanding how groundwater storage dynamics influence ecosystem structure, function, and recovery potential is essential for sustainable water–ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation in the Anthropocene.

This Research Topic aims to bridge hydrogeophysical monitoring and ecological theory by integrating satellite-based groundwater observations with ecosystem dynamics. We seek to explore how spatiotemporal variations in groundwater storage—derived from gravity satellites, InSAR, GNSS, and hydrological models—affect vegetation health, soil moisture regimes, species adaptation, and restoration outcomes. Emphasis will be placed on model-driven approaches and cross-scale analyses that couple groundwater variability with ecological processes such as primary productivity, species migration, and resilience to drought or land-use change. Recent methodological advances in multi-source data fusion, machine learning, and ecohydrological modeling offer unprecedented opportunities to improve predictive capabilities and inform conservation strategies. By linking Earth observation data to ecological dynamics, this special issue aims to provide a novel framework for understanding water–ecosystem interactions under global change.

We welcome original research, reviews, and modeling studies that focus on groundwater–ecosystem interactions at regional to global scales. Relevant themes include:

• Applications of gravity satellites and remote sensing in ecohydrology

• Groundwater-driven vegetation dynamics and biogeographical shifts

• Modeling groundwater impacts on biodiversity and community structure

• Water balance and restoration ecology in regions affected by over-extraction or aridification

• Integration of hydrological, ecological, and evolutionary models

• Policy and management frameworks for sustainable groundwater–ecosystem systems

Submissions may employ empirical, experimental, or simulation-based approaches, and should emphasize innovative methodologies or conceptual advances that enhance our understanding of coupled groundwater and ecological processes.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Groundwater storage, Gravity satellites, Ecohydrology, Climate change, Water–ecosystem interactions, Spatiotemporal modeling, Urban and agricultural ecosystems, Conservation hydrology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.