About this Research Topic

Background

The increasing environmental influences caused by climate change and human disturbances are progressively leading to the degradation of vast areas worldwide and causing changes in land use dynamics and ecological services. Land and water management is especially critical as the use of upstream watersheds can drastically affect large numbers of people living in downstream watersheds, as well as the ecosystem services of the land and waterways on which they depend. Integrated watershed management, which stresses both the importance of landscape processes, participatory planning, and the institutional and technical constraints and opportunities, is therefore necessary.

In recent years, research on multi-scale hydrological connectivity has grown in popularity and has been recognized for its potential to provide an integrated approach to the study of complex land-water systems. As a method to develop a more holistic approach to watershed assessment and management, the concept of hydrological connectivity is often put at the forefront. Hydrological connectivity can be seen as the patterns and strength of the water-mediated linkages between discrete units of the landscape, and as such, it facilitates our knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms driving runoff initiation, cessation, and the flow regimes of receiving waterways and wetlands. Much of the excitement surrounding hydrological connectivity is attributed to its potential to enhance our ability to gain insights into multiple areas of expertise, including process dynamics, numerical model building, the effects of human elements in our landscape on conceptualizations, and the development of simplified watershed management tools. Water-limited ecosystems are undergoing drastic changes in vegetation cover and plant community composition in response to shifts in climatic conditions and anthropogenic activities on land, therefore, it is necessary to establish close connections between research in the physical and the ecological sciences in order to provide a process-based understanding of the interactions existing between the hydrosphere and the biosphere. At the watershed scale, efficient management requires us to protect vegetation and soil resources and reduce the vulnerability of landscapes to soil erosion. Consequently, raising awareness of issues, causes, consequences, and, preventive measures of hydrological processes, with their impacts on water-limited ecosystems at the watershed scale, is crucial for stakeholders and policymakers around the world.

This Research Topic aims to provide critical information on how multi-scale hydrological and geomorphic processes can be controlled to achieve sustainable land management and minimal impacts on water-limited ecosystems. We are interested in Methods and Original Research Articles, but also welcome Perspective and Review articles that can provide new insights on hydrological connectivity, catchment processes, and watershed management.

We welcome submissions on the following topics:

• Vegetation patterns and land evolution processes in water-limited ecosystems;
• Interdisciplinary aspects of the soil-vegetation-climate system at multiple scales (e.g. hillslope to watershed);
• New advances in hydrological connectivity assessment and watershed management;
• Eco-hydrologic controls on soil nutrient dynamics;
• New methodologies for eco-hydrological processes: models, photogrammetry, field investigation, in-situ monitoring, qualitative evaluations, indices, etc.
• New strategies to improve ecosystem services based on hydrological connectivity perspectives.

Keywords: Hydrological connectivity, Watershed management, Landscape Processes, Geomorphology, Soil Erosion, Vegetation Patterns, Eco-hydrology, Ecosystem Services

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.

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