About this Research Topic

Background

Soil loss presents a critical global challenge, degrading ecosystems and impacting the sustainability of human society. Human activities like deforestation, construction, and agriculture can drastically alter landscapes, increasing soil instabilities such as erosion and shallow landslides, which can accelerate soil degradation. Climate change further exacerbates this trend by increasing the magnitude and frequency of rainfall erosivity, which disrupts the soil structure and stability.

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) using vegetation provide effective approaches for mitigating soil instabilities caused by wind and water, as well as preventing shallow soil movements. Various plant elements play crucial roles in soil protection: for instance, canopy cover and leaf litter intercept raindrops, significantly reducing their kinetic energy before reaching the soil surface. Shrubs and herbaceous plants increase water infiltration by reducing the quantity and the velocity of surface runoff, acting as natural barriers to control flow. Additionally, roots increase soil cohesion by binding soil particles together.

NBS are commonly applied in urban environments, but also these principles can be adapted to other settings, including agricultural and forest environments. In agriculture and rural contexts, practices like wild planting, shrub borders, and cover crops prevent erosion by slowing runoff, increasing infiltration, and binding soil particles. In urban settings, green roofs, and rain gardens mitigate stormwater impacts by anchoring soil, reducing runoff, and retaining soil along slopes and around infrastructure.

This Research Topic will showcase multidisciplinary research on the use of NBS for preventing soil erosion, enhancing soil stability, and reducing shallow landslide risks. By cataloging diverse strategies ranging from laboratory experiments to field practices, the goal is to bridge the gap between experimental research and real-world application. We welcome original research, reviews, and brief research on the following themes.

NBS for Soil Stability and Erosion Control
• Practical applications of NBS in reducing soil erosion and stabilizing soil in agricultural, forested, and urban areas.
• Comparative studies of vegetation types (e.g., herbs, shrubs, trees) for their effectiveness in reinforcing soil across different landscapes.
• Soil-bioengineering techniques using vegetation to enhance soil cohesion and hydro-mechanical stability of shallower soil layer.

Plant-Soil Interaction Studies
• Investigations on root system characteristics (e.g., density, tensile strength, spatial distribution) and their influence on soil stability.
• Studies on root-soil interactions across scales, from individual plants to ecosystem-level communities.

Multiscale Approaches to Vegetation-Based Soil Stabilization
• Multiscale studies assessing vegetation’s impact on soil stability, from seedlings to watershed-level applications.
• Case studies of vegetation-based stabilization in varied environments such as slopes, agricultural lands, and urban settings.

Methods for Measuring and Monitoring NBS Effectiveness
• Quantitative techniques for evaluating NBS impact on soil stabilization, including remote sensing, GIS, and hydro-mechanical assessments.
• Field monitoring using erosion pins, sediment traps, and runoff plots to directly measure soil erosion rates and sediment displacement.
• Laboratory simulations and soil testing to assess vegetation influence on soil properties under controlled conditions.

Article types and fees

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

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• 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
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: soil erosion, landslide risks, nature-based solutions, vegetation, shrubs, soil structure, soil stability, root structure, surface runoff

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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