Land Degradation & Development is an international journal which seeks to promote rational study of the recognition, monitoring, control and rehabilitation of degradation in terrestrial environments. The journal focuses on:
what land degradation is;
what causes land degradation;
the impacts of land degradation
the scale of land degradation;
the history, current status or future trends of land degradation;
avoidance, mitigation and control of land degradation;
remedial actions to rehabilitate or restore degraded land;
sustainable land management.
Land degradation may be defined as the loss of utility or potential utility through the reduction of or damage to physical, social, cultural or economic features, and/or reduction of ecosystem diversity. There may be a single cause or a complex mix of causes, some may be biogeophysical ('natural'), some socioeconomic ('human') and it is quite possible that cause(s) will be indirect, perhaps cumulative and difficult to identify. A major challenge is to learn how interactions between development and environment can be better managed to increase prospects for ecologically and socially sustainable improvements to human well-being. Development means attempts to improve human well-being or environmental quality in rich and poor nations on a sustained basis (sustainable development).
Papers are invited on scientific, social, economic, political and historical aspects of terrestrial environmental degradation. Also welcome are analyses presenting forecasts of trends, case studies and discussion on management, planning and policy-making relating to the promotion of ecological sustainability and the counteraction of land degradation.
In addition to original research papers, regional and thematic reviews, both invited and submitted, will be included, as will short communications, book reviews and applications of remote sensing and computer techniques. The members of the Editorial Board are drawn from a comprehensive range of disciplines and nationalities. Together with a strict refereeing procedure this will ensure Land Degradation & Development maintains a high standard and presents material from a wide range of disciplines, from interdisciplinary study and with an international coverage. Land Degradation & Development practices a non- politics/gender/religion/race policy as a science journal. Figures should not contain material such as disputed territory, and text should not contain discriminatory or derogatory material.

The subject matter will include the following topics:
ENVIRONMENTS
Degradation of: deserts, savannas, rangelands; forests, woodlands, tundra; mountain environments; wetlands, floodlands; farmland, irrigated land; sand-dunes; coastal zones, islands, urban, peri-urban environments. In polar, temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.
PROCESSES
'Desertification', rangeland degradation; soil degradation (compaction, loss of fertility, reduced organic matter, pollution, waterlogging, acidification, salinization, alkalinization, 'laterite' and hard-pan formation); erosion; degradation of vegetation cover, 'deforestation'; impoverishment of wildlife habitats, loss of species.
CAUSES
Climatic change; sea-level variation; drought; storms; earth processes (geomorphological, volcanicity, natural leaching of soils); bushfires; degradation as a consequence of: industry, urban growth, agrochemicals, agricultural modernization, energy production/consumption, mining, warfare, refugees or migrants, breakdown of traditional landuse strategies, altered communications, legislative changes, demographic changes, administrative causes, institutional causes, social or economic causes.
PERCEPTIONS
Perception/recognition of degradation, attitudes toward degradation; ethics and land degradation; indicators; monitoring, surveillance; assessment of significance; establishing past, present and future trends.
IMPACTS
Physical, biological, social, cultural and economic impacts (direct, indirect, cumulative); long-term and short-term impacts; assessment of significance; aesthetic impact of degradation.
RESPONSES AND MANAGEMENT
Mapping; databases; management of monitoring, management of responses; sustainable land management; funding degradation control or rehabilitation; education to counter land degradation; role of governmental organizations in managing land degradation; Non-governmental organizations and land degradation; community participation and land degradation management; the law and land degradation.

EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief
Jan Nyssen - Ghent University, Belgium


Founding Editor
Chris Barrow - Swansea University, UK


SECTION EDITORS

Chris Barrow
Swansea University, UK

Sections (2): Effects of Fire & Land Contamination / Socio-Economic Aspects

Chris’ research specialisms are land degradation, environmental management, sustainable resource use in tropical highlands, environmental and social impact assessment and integrated river basin management. Chris founded Land Degradation & Development in 1989 and was Managing Editor for over 20 years.

 



Martin Brandt
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Section: Remote Sensing and Emerging Technologies

Martin’s focus is on remote sensing and environmental change, with a particular interest in explaining remote results on the ground - which includes vegetation surveys, but also “socializing pixels” by intensive work with humans living and acting within the pixel. Martin received his PhD from the University of Bayreuth, and has been working in the Sahel region of Africa and in the Karst area of China.

 



Jan Frouz
Charles University, Czech Republic

Section: Restoration and Reclamation

Jan’s interests include soil science, soil and ecosystem biology, ecosystem restoration after mining and other disturbances - with particular attention on restoration of the soil part of ecosystem recovery. In particular he is exploring the question of how the interaction between plant soil and soil biota drives the succession of soil and consequently whole ecosystems, and how we can use this knowledge in ecosystem restoration. He received his PhD in Entomology from the Czech Academy of Sciences and is currently Professor of Environmental Science at Charles university in Prague, Director of the Charles University Environment Centre, and Director of SoWa Research Infrastructure.

 



Vanessa Wong
Monash University, Australia

Section: Soil Hydrology

Vanessa’s research explores the spatial and temporal interactions between soils, sediments and water at a range of scales. She is especially interested in the role of soil-surface water-shallow groundwater processes ranging from the micron scale to the landscape scale in landscape function. Vanessa is currently a Senior Lecturer at the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University.

 



Yakov Kuzyakov
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany

Section: Land & Soil Quality (Soil Degradation)

Yakov’s research expertise covers areas including soil biogeochemistry, C and N transformation, soil-plant-microorganism interactions, biochar stability and decomposition, pedogenic carbonates and stable/radioactive isotopes. Yakov received his PhD from the Moscow Agricultural University, and currently holds a Chair in both the Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems and the Department of Agricultural Soil Science at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.

 



Gerardo Ojeda
Escuela de Ciencias Agrícolas, Pecuarias y del Medio Ambiente - ECAPMA
Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia UNAD - JCM, Bogotá, Colombia

Section: Land & Soil Quality (Land Quality & Ecosystem Services)

 

Gerardo’s research specialisms include the links between soil physics, carbon storage, water retention, soil ecosystem services and biodiversity. He has a particular interest in how the environment controls organic matter persistence in soils. Gerardo is currently an associate researcher in the Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a professor of Universidad Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD).

 



Jan Nyssen
Ghent University, Belgium

Section: Soil Erosion

 

Jan’s research aims to contribute to the identification and quantification of changes in the coupled system "humans-environment" - with focus on slope processes, hydrogeomorphology, land degradation and resilience. Jan received his PhD from the University of Leuven and is currently a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Ghent.

 



JOURNAL SECTIONS

Effects of Fire and Land Contamination
Section Editor – Chris Barrow

Associate Editors:

Cristina Branquinho, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
Antonio Ferreira, Coimbra Agriculture Politecnic School, Portugal
Lorenza Zavala, MED Soil Research Group, Spain

Remote Sensing and Emerging Technologies
Section Editor – Martin Brandt

Associate Editors:

Gregory Duveiller, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Italy
Stéphanie Marie Anne F Horion, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Jian Peng, Peking University, China
Narcisa Pricope, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA
Paolo Tarolli, University of Padova, Italy
Feng Tian, Lund University, Sweden

Restoration and Reclamation
Section Editor – Jan Frouz

Associate Editors:

Purushothaman Chirakkuzhyil Abhilash, Banaras Hindu University, India
Mac Callaham Jr., Center for Forest Disturbance Science, USA
Ali El-Keblawy, University of Sharjah, UAE
Dejun Li, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, China
Chao Liang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Xiangzhen Li, Chengdu Institute of Biology, China
Marc Oliva, University of Barcelona, Spain
Péter Török, University of Debrecen, Hungary

Land & Soil Quality
Section Editors – Gerardo Ojeda (Land Quality & Ecosystem Services) and Yakov Kuzyakov (Soil Degradation)

Associate Editors:

Thilde Bech Bruun, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Chengrong Chen, Griffith University, Australia
Huai Chen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Maxim Dorodnikov, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Anna Gunina, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Esteban Jobbagy, CONICET & Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Argentina
Ebhin Masto, CSIR, India
Viacheslav Vasenev, Peoples Friendship University of Russia, Russia
Wenhua Xiang, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, China
Xingliang Xu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Huadong Zang, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Kazem Zamananian, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Socio-Economic Aspects
Section Editor – Chris Barrow

Associate Editors:

Hossein Azadi, Ghent University, Belgium
Alan Grainger, University of Leeds, UK
Katrin Prager, The James Hutton University, UK

Soil Erosion
Section Editor – Jan Nyssen

Associate Editors:

Wu Gao-Lin, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Nigussie Haregeweyn, Tottori University, Japan
Maria Jose Marques, Autonomous University Madrid, Spain
Michael Meadows, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Antonio Jordán, University of Seville, Spain
Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran
Stefan Strohmeier, Internetional Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Jordan
Matthias Vamaercke, University of Liege, Belgium

Soil Hydrology
Section Editor – Vanessa Wong

Associate Editors:

David Dunkerley, Monash University, Australia
Hanoch Lavee, Bar Ilan University, Israel
Ali Reza Vaezi, University of Zanjan, Iran
Joris de Vente, CEBAS-CSIC, Spain
Lea Wittenberg, University of Haifa, Israel