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Modelling, Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Hydrology and Ecological Processes
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Modelling, Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Hydrology and Ecological Processes

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Water".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2026) | Viewed by 3413

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lei Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Land Engineering, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
Interests: ecological remote sensing; ecological restoration; spatial analysis and modeling; hydrologi-cal process ; water and soil conservation
Dr. Ming Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Land Engineering, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
Interests: hydrological processes in arid areas; vegetation water consumption; evapotranspira-tion; soil water; groundwater

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the simulation, monitoring, and assessment research of soil hydrology and ecological processes. Automated monitoring, multi-element remote sensing, interpretation by new synthetic aperture radar satellites, big data analysis, machine learning, and other emerging technologies are used to measure and calculate the key variables of soil hydrology to improve the accuracy of soil moisture monitoring. Through comprehensive methods, such as multi-source data fusion, physical processes simulation, and deep learning, the soil hydrology processes at different spatiotemporal scales are studied, and the mechanism connections among different scales are explored. In addition, the influence of soil moisture changes on the terrestrial hydrological ecosystem are clarified and the coupling mechanism of "soil–vegetation–hydrology" are analyzed. The connections between soil hydrology, ecological processes, and human activities are analyzed, and the influence of ecological processes on climate and land use changes, etc. are revealed. This Special Issue aims to establish a research paradigm for the simulation, monitoring, and assessment of hydrology-ecological processes, providing scientific basis and decision support for improving the quality of ecosystems and ensuring the sustainable utilization of water resources.

The content of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, soil moisture monitoring technology, inversion methods and products by satellite remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicle, multi-source data fusion and assimilation technology of soil moisture, application of machine learning in the study of soil hydrology processes, simulation of land surface hydrology processes, the influence mechanism of soil moisture changes on ecosystems, simulation, prediction, and evaluation of hydrology ecological processes under different climate scenarios, etc.

Dr. Lei Han
Dr. Ming Zhao
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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.

Keywords

  • multi-source remote sensing
  • spatial analysis and modeling
  • soil moisture
  • vegetation ecology
  • multiple scale
  • climate change
  • land use

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 684 KB  
Article
Optimality-Based Active Region Model (ARM) for Fingering Flow in the Vadose Zone: Recent Theoretical Progress
by Hui-Hai Liu, Yingjun Liu and Shuo Zhang
Water 2026, 18(5), 641; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18050641 - 8 Mar 2026
Viewed by 378
Abstract
Gravitational fingering often occurs for water flow in the vadose zone and accurate modeling of this important flow process remains a significant scientific challenge. This paper presents the latest theoretical developments of the optimality-based active region model (ARM), a macroscopic framework developed for [...] Read more.
Gravitational fingering often occurs for water flow in the vadose zone and accurate modeling of this important flow process remains a significant scientific challenge. This paper presents the latest theoretical developments of the optimality-based active region model (ARM), a macroscopic framework developed for describing gravitational fingering flow in the vadose zone. ARM divides the soil into active (fingering) and inactive regions, introducing a relationship between water flux and hydraulic gradient derived from the principle of optimality that the system self-organizes to maximize water flow conductivity. Unlike traditional models, ARM’s hydraulic conductivity depends on both capillary pressure or water saturation and water flux, reflecting the unstable nature of fingering flow. The paper provides an updated mathematical derivation of ARM relationships using calculus of variations and extends ARM to account for small water flux in the non-fingering zone, resulting in a dual-flow field model. These new developments should make ARM more rigorous and realistic for field-scale applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Hydrology and Ecological Processes)
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20 pages, 13668 KB  
Article
Assessing National Water Model Soil Moisture Performance in Puerto Rico Using In Situ and Satellite Observations
by Gerardo Trossi-Torres, Jonathan Muñoz-Barreto, Luisa I. Feliciano-Cruz and Tarendra Lakhankar
Water 2026, 18(5), 590; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18050590 - 28 Feb 2026
Viewed by 382
Abstract
Soil moisture and saturation are crucial hydrological variables for understanding the soil’s condition and modeling improvement. The National Water Model (NWM), a large-scale model, simulates the hydrologic cycle across the Contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The study’s objective was to evaluate [...] Read more.
Soil moisture and saturation are crucial hydrological variables for understanding the soil’s condition and modeling improvement. The National Water Model (NWM), a large-scale model, simulates the hydrologic cycle across the Contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The study’s objective was to evaluate the NWM’s performance in estimating and forecasting soil moisture in Puerto Rico from the year 2021 to 2023. The datasets used included in situ stations, model outputs, and remotely sensed data from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. Then, we used Volumetric bias (Vbias), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE) to measure performance. The analysis assimilation results showed that three stations in each dataset had an inversely predominant error equal to 25% or less. This low error was reflected in the obtained Vbias and MAE results. Meanwhile, the KGE analysis indicated that the NWM achieves low to moderate soil moisture performance, with better agreement against SMAP than in situ observations. However, the forecasted datasets did not produce satisfactory results. Short-range forecasts exhibited negative KGE values, highlighting the importance of data assimilation, the persistent influence of bias, and scale mismatch. Although the NWM’s primary focus is streamflow forecast, these findings highlight the potential application of the model beyond its primary focus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Hydrology and Ecological Processes)
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18 pages, 3818 KB  
Article
The Differences in Water Consumption Between Pinus and Salix in the Mu Us Sandy Land, a Semiarid Region of Northwestern China
by Ming Zhao, Jie Fang, Jianhui Huang, Da Lei and Zhenguo Xing
Water 2025, 17(19), 2895; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17192895 - 6 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 942
Abstract
The water consumption processes of vegetation play an important role in water resource management in semiarid regions, while the difference in water consumption between native and exotic species is unclear. In this study, the exotic Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongholica Litv. (Pinus [...] Read more.
The water consumption processes of vegetation play an important role in water resource management in semiarid regions, while the difference in water consumption between native and exotic species is unclear. In this study, the exotic Pinus sylvestris L. var. mongholica Litv. (Pinus) and the native Salix psammophila (Salix) in Mu Us Sandy Land were selected as the research objects, and their water consumption characteristics were studied via in situ experiment and stable isotopes (δ2H and δ18O). Results revealed that vegetation water consumption caused spatial variation in soil moisture, allowing the soil profile to be divided into active, stable, capillary support and saturated zones. Pinus primarily used water from the active and stable zones, whereas Salix relied more on the capillary support and saturated zones. Water consumption patterns also varied seasonally, for example, at the beginning of growth (May–June), Salix and Pinus mainly use shallow soil water and begin to use deep soil water and groundwater with growth. During July–September, they absorb soil water mainly in the active zone and stable zone. Both Salix and Pinus can freely switch water sources between deep and shallow layers according to water demand. The seasonal fluctuations in precipitation and groundwater level were the main factors driving the seasonal changes in the water consumption of the two vegetation types. Pinus has better strategies to adapt to droughts than Salix, but its water consumption is higher than that of Salix. Therefore, proper management is needed to control the reasonable density of Pinus plantation to balance the water consumption of vegetation and groundwater recharge. The results can provide a scientific basis for the reasonable vegetation reconstruction in the Mu Us Sandy Land. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Hydrology and Ecological Processes)
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18 pages, 4607 KB  
Article
Xylem Hydraulic Characteristics and Soil Water Content Drive Drought Sensitivity Differences in Afforestation Species
by Ruimin He, Zhenguo Xing, Mingzhe Lei, Guanjie Li, Xiaoqing Liu, Jie Fang, Da Lei and Xin Zou
Water 2025, 17(16), 2445; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17162445 - 19 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1165
Abstract
Drought is a critical factor influencing the distribution of forest species in both present and future global terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, to investigate the sensitivity of typical afforestation tree species on the Loess Plateau to drought and its influencing factors, we conducted field experiments [...] Read more.
Drought is a critical factor influencing the distribution of forest species in both present and future global terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, to investigate the sensitivity of typical afforestation tree species on the Loess Plateau to drought and its influencing factors, we conducted field experiments to measure the sap flow, soil moisture content, fine root density, leaf water potential, and xylem hydraulic characteristics of three deciduous trees: apple (Malus domestica), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), and jujube (Ziziphus jujube). We found that the canopy conductance (Gc) of black locust and apple trees was highly sensitive to VPD variations. Their transpiration (T) was also sensitive to soil moisture variation, especially for black locust. In contrast, the Gc and T sensitivity of jujube trees was low. The differences in their drought sensitivities can primarily be attributed to variations in xylem hydraulic conductivity and embolism vulnerability. Our results demonstrate that both mature black locust and apple trees on the Loess Plateau have strong drought sensitivity, especially black locust. Therefore, alterations in precipitation patterns driven by climate change may significantly influence the community distribution of black locusts trees on the Loess Plateau. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling, Monitoring and Assessment of Soil Hydrology and Ecological Processes)
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