Enhanced Ecohydrological Modeling Through Multi-Source Data Fusion

Dear Colleagues,

Ecohydrology examines the dynamic feedback between hydrological processes and ecological systems. Since the mid-20th century, ecohydrological modeling has evolved from conceptual models of water balance to complex, process-based, tracer-aided simulations integrating vegetation dynamics, soil–water interactions, and atmospheric drivers. However, uncertainties in model structure, parameterization, and boundary conditions persist—especially under non-stationary climate and land-use change. In the past two decades, the proliferation of high-resolution satellite products (e.g., soil moisture, vegetation indices, and evapotranspiration), dense sensor networks, global reanalysis datasets, and stable isotope observations has opened new opportunities for multi-source data fusion. For example, tracer-aided models simulate isotope ratios alongside hydrological fluxes, offering insights into water age, flow paths, and the partition between “green” and “blue” water. By integrating heterogeneous datasets, researchers can improve model realism, reduce uncertainty, and extend predictive capabilities to unmonitored regions.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles and reviews that advance ecohydrological modeling by showcasing innovative approaches for multi-source data fusion and their applications.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link to the following themes:

• Model calibration, validation, and uncertainty analysis in hydrological and ecohydrological models;
• Integration of multi-source data (remote sensing, in situ, isotope, reanalysis, and climate model outputs);
• Machine learning and hybrid modeling for prediction and process understanding;
• Impacts of climate variability, climate change, and land-use change on water and ecosystems;
• Applications to droughts, vegetation–water interactions, and ecological risk assessment in water management.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Cong Jiang
Prof. Dr. Xiaoqiang Yang
Prof. Dr. Dongwei Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Hydrology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• eco-hydrological modeling
• multi-source data fusion
• tracer-aided modeling
• remote sensing
• machine learning methods
• water–vegetation interactions
• climate and land-use change impact