International Journal of Digital Earth

Integrating Field-Based Methods and Remote Sensing for Assessing Soil Degradation and Environmental and Human Health Risks

Soil degradation directly affects food production, water regulation, biodiversity, climate mitigation and human health, making its accurate assessment essential for sustainable land management. However, many degradation processes are spatially heterogeneous, develop gradually and remain difficult to detect using conventional monitoring alone. Field-based methods provide detailed and reliable measurements, but they are often limited in spatial coverage and frequency, while remote sensing and Digital Earth technologies offer broader and repeated observations that require robust ground validation.

Integrating these complementary approaches is therefore critical for producing accurate, scalable and timely information on the condition of soils and their associated environmental and health risks. Such information can improve the identification of vulnerable areas, support early-warning systems, guide remediation and restoration measures, and strengthen evidence-based policy. It can also help evaluate the effectiveness of land-management interventions and contribute to international objectives related to land degradation neutrality, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture and public health protection.

This Article Collection invites contributions advancing the use of field observations, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, remote sensing and Digital Earth technologies to assess soil degradation and related environmental and human health risks. Relevant topics include soil erosion, contamination, salinisation, compaction, desertification, organic carbon loss and declining fertility as well as the environmental recovery of degraded areas. Contributions may integrate field and laboratory measurements, including visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, with satellite, airborne and UAV data. Other areas include multi-sensor and multi-scale data fusion, geospatial modelling, artificial intelligence and big data analytics, time-series analysis, digital soil mapping, indicators, monitoring frameworks and decision-support tools. Studies linking soil degradation with ecosystem services, climate change, food security, water quality, environmental exposure and public health are encouraged. The Collection aims to advance interdisciplinary research that translates innovative monitoring tools into actionable knowledge for risk assessment, land management, restoration planning and policy development.

Article Collection Guest Advisors

Professor Erika Santos is Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior de Agronomia – Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal) and senior researcher at the LEAF (Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food) Research Centre. She has more than 20 years of academic experience teaching curricular units and advising on theses at several universities in Europe, Africa and Latin America, as well as performing other academic functions. She has participated in several R&D projects (co)-financed by European, international and portuguese funds and companies, acting as coordinator (PI) and researcher. She has published several international book chapters, articles in indexed journals, conference proceedings and technical books. Her main scientific experience covers the physicochemical and biological evaluation of different soil types, biogeochemistry, the environmental recovery of degraded or contaminated areas using nature-based solutions, soil-plant and soil-microorganism interactions, and the valorisation of endogenous resources.

Dr Fabio Castaldi is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of BioEconomy of the National Research Council of Italy. His research focuses on soil monitoring, soil property estimation, and sustainable agriculture through the integration of remote sensing, proximal sensing, satellite data, UAV-based observations, and spectroscopy. He has gained extensive international experience in Italy and Belgium, contributing to national and European research initiatives and serving as project manager and work package leader in the fields of Earth Observation, soil science, and precision agriculture. He has authored numerous scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and was included among the world’s top 2% most cited scientists in Stanford University’s global ranking in 2024 and 2025.

Dr Rubén Forján is Assistant Professor at Salamanca University. His research focuses on the restoration of contaminated and degraded soils through waste-derived amendments, phytoremediation, nature-based solutions, and circular economy strategies. He has authored 70 scientific publications and edited a scientific book. He has also participated in ten research projects, including Horizon Europe and LIFE projects, as well as national and regional funded projects.

Dr Lorena Salgado holds a PhD in Natural Resources Engineering from the University of Oviedo, awarded cum laude, and hasa background in geomatics, surveying, geographic information systems and remote sensing. Her research focuses on monitoring degraded soils using remote sensing, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and machine learning, with particular emphasis on soil organic carbon dynamics and contaminant detection in mining- and wildfire-affected areas. She has published articles in indexed scientific journals, participated in more than fifteen national and European research projects, and presented her work at major international conferences. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher on the Horizon Europe pHYBi project at the University of Oviedo, where she develops innovative approaches to soil restoration and environmental monitoring.

Submission Instructions

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts.

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 31 May 2027.

Please contact Alex Johnson at alex.johnson@tandf.co.uk with any queries about this Article Collection, or to request a discount code.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Article Collection Key Terms

• Digital soil mapping
• Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
• Geospatial modelling
• Big data
• Multi-sensor data fusion