Alemaw et al. (2026) Editorial: Climate, water and land in Africa: research trends and challenges

Identification

• Journal: Frontiers in Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-23
• Authors: Berhanu F. Alemaw, Axel Bronstert, Masengo Ilunga, Harald Kunstmann, Christof Lorenz
• DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2026.1802170

Research Groups

• University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
• University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
• University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Campus Alpin, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
• University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany

Short Summary

This editorial introduces a Research Topic on "Climate, Water and Land in Africa: Research Trends and Challenges," synthesizing 11 original research articles to highlight current scientific understanding and prerequisites for sustainable water and land management on the continent. It emphasizes the need for scientific innovation combined with stakeholder participation and improved governance to address severe pressures on Africa's water resources.

Objective

• To introduce and synthesize the contributions of a special Research Topic titled "Climate, Water and Land in Africa: Research Trends and Challenges," highlighting current research trends and challenges in African hydrology, climate change impacts, and sustainable water/land management.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Continental Africa, with individual summarized studies focusing on specific regions such as South Africa (Western Cape), Ethiopia (Upper Blue Nile Basin), tropical West Africa, Senegal River basin, Sudanian savanna, Dakar (Senegal), West African Sudan-Sahel, Ferlo region (Senegal), Burkina Faso, and Southern Malawi.
• Temporal Scale: The editorial covers contemporary research trends. The summarized studies span various periods, including specific analyses from 2007 to 2022, assessments from the 1980s to 2023, and analyses of data from the past three decades.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: (As reported in the summarized articles) WRF-Hydro, WASA-SED, ECMWF SEAS5, WARCOF, atmospheric circulation-pattern-based logistic regression model.
• Data sources: (As reported in the summarized articles) European Space Agency land cover data, eddy covariance (EC) measurements, satellite rainfall estimate products (GPM-IMERG, CHIRPS), reanalysis data (ERA-5, ERA5-Land), ground-based rainfall data, Landsat and Sentinel 1 satellite imagery, in situ observations, Earth Observation products (vegetation indices like NDVI, backscatter statistics), cyclone data, stakeholder benchmarking and interviews.

Main Results

• The editorial presents 11 research articles addressing regional environmental and climate changes, impacts on land resources, agriculture, surface and sub-surface water resources, and wetlands in Africa.
• Key findings from the summarized articles include: climate change impacts on minimum environmental flow in South Africa; alarming reservoir siltation rates (e.g., 62% storage capacity loss in Angereb reservoir from 2007 to 2022); regional climate response to land cover change, suggesting afforestation could increase flood risk; the importance of landscape heterogeneity for eddy covariance measurements in land-atmosphere exchange; physical mechanisms associated with extreme rainfall events (exceeding 100 mm) in Dakar; assessment of seasonal rainfall prediction models for West African Sudan-Sahel; evaluation of satellite-derived rainfall datasets for hydrological modeling in data-scarce regions; methods for classifying surface water using satellite data; innovative Earth Observation approaches for rice agricultural mapping; and links between climate change and tropical cyclone occurrence in Southern Malawi.
• The collection collectively enhances the understanding of African hydrology and provides scientific prerequisites for sustainable land and water management.

Contributions

• Provides a comprehensive synthesis of current research trends and challenges related to climate, water, and land in Africa, based on 11 original research articles.
• Highlights the critical need for scientific system knowledge to derive solutions for improved water management and sustainable practices on the African continent.
• Emphasizes that scientific innovation must be combined with stakeholder participation and improved capacity of institutional innovation and governance structures for effective water resource management.
• Showcases the existing capacity in hydrological research within Africa despite various constraints.

Funding

No specific funding projects or programs are listed for the editorial itself.

Citation

@article{Alemaw2026Editorial,
  author = {Alemaw, Berhanu F. and Bronstert, Axel and Ilunga, Masengo and Kunstmann, Harald and Lorenz, Christof},
  title = {Editorial: Climate, water and land in Africa: research trends and challenges},
  journal = {Frontiers in Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3389/frwa.2026.1802170},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2026.1802170}
}