Deeper Engagement with Material and Non-Material Aspects of Water in Land System Science: An Introduction to the Special Issue

Water access and use impact land management decisions and livelihoods. Despite the integral role water plays in land systems, land system science (LSS) research often fails to explicitly incorporate water into analyses of socioecological systems (SES) resilience related to land. Nonetheless, water s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Land (Basel) 2024-12, Vol.13 (12), p.2095
Main Authors: Vadjunec, Jacqueline M., Fagin, Todd D., Hinsdale, Lanah M., Carrasco Galvan, Georgina Belem, Baum, Kristen A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Biodiversity
Climate change
Climatic changes
Decision making
Drought
Droughts
Ecological function
Ecosystems
Environmental degradation
Environmental economics
Extreme weather
Food
Groundwater
Integration
Land management
land system science
Land use planning
material and non-material nature
Natural resources
Remote sensing
Resilience
Social-ecological systems
socio-ecological systems
Surface water
Sustainability
United States
Vegetation
Water
Water availability
Water governance
Water scarcity
Watersheds
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Summary:Water access and use impact land management decisions and livelihoods. Despite the integral role water plays in land systems, land system science (LSS) research often fails to explicitly incorporate water into analyses of socioecological systems (SES) resilience related to land. Nonetheless, water scarcity, especially in the face of climate change and resource degradation, is a pressing issue. Water availability is crucial to many ecosystem functions, from supporting biodiversity to mitigating extreme weather events such as flooding or drought. In this introduction to the “Water in Land System Science” Special Issue, we argue for deeper integration of land and water dynamics in LSS to increase SES resilience. First, we present an overview of the need for this integration, followed by a synopsis of the authored contributions in this Special Issue towards this goal. We then provide potential entry points researchers can use to foster this integration, exploring the following topics: water governance and hydrosocial territories, the cultural geographies of water, hydrophilia, water in agricultural transitions, remote sensing innovations, and participatory approaches to the study of the water component of land systems. We conclude that interactions between land, water, and people remain understudied, despite being more important than ever for ensuring future sustainability.
ISSN:2073-445X
2073-445X
DOI:10.3390/land13122095