Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Catena, cilt.268, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Effective land and water management systems are critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in combating Land Degradation (LD) in agro-ecosystems. This study evaluates the applicability of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) framework in arid and semi-arid regions by incorporating soil erosion as a fourth indicator alongside Land Cover (LC), Land Productivity (LP), and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). The analysis revealed that using LC, LP, and SOC, degradation accounted for 26.24%, stability 72.22%, and improvement 1.55%. When incorporating erosion (LC-LP-Erosion), degradation increased to 39.32%, stability declined to 24.51%, and improvement increased to 36.17%. Combining both SOC and erosion (LC-LP-SOC&Erosion) resulted in 39.61% degradation, 45.95% stability, and 14.44% improvement. The process-driven nature of erosion provides a more dynamic measure of landscape vulnerability than SOC, which remains relatively static in low-carbon soils. In semi-arid regions, where SOC is naturally low ('1%), erosion control is essential for preventing further SOC losses and supporting Sustainable Land Management (SLM). Integrating erosion into LDN assessments improves spatial precision, guiding targeted interventions such as engineering measures versus natural restoration efforts. This approach enhances land-use planning, conservation strategies, and SLM implementation, optimizing restoration efforts within the LDN framework. This study highlights the importance of multi-indicator assessments in LDN evaluations, particularly in fragile ecosystems, to support effective land management and SDG attainment.