Water Energy Food Nexus Research Articles

Identifying and optimizing ecological security patterns from the perspective of the water-energy-food nexus

Ecosystem services (ESs) associated with the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus influence the ecological security of urban agglomerations. However, how to apply the assessment of ESs relevant to the WEF nexus into the identification and optimization of ecological security patterns still remains unclear. This study assessed the development level of the WEF nexus based on a constructed evaluation index system and the evaluation model combined with game theory and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The relevant ESs were selected based on the analysis of stakeholders related to the WEF nexus, and further quantified by the models. On this basis, the relationship between the WEF nexus and ESs was evaluated by Spearman rank correlation analysis. Then this study identified ecological security patterns by following the basic paradigm of “Source identification-Resistance surface establishment-Corridor extraction”. Lastly, this study optimized ecological security patterns by considering the WEF nexus. Thus, a methodological framework of identifying and optimizing ecological security patterns from the perspective of ESs related to the WEF nexus was designed, which was applied to the case of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA), China. The results revealed that the WEF nexus was significantly negatively correlated with ESs. The sources of water yield were in the southwest and central areas of the YRDUA, and those of carbon storage and food production were respectively in the forested and farming areas. The ecological resistance surface displayed a slow declining trend from east to west, and ecological corridors showed a zigzag distribution from north to south. The total length of the ecological corridors was 20,891.45 km. A scheme of “two belts, three zones and four groups” was proposed to optimize the ecological security pattern of the YRDUA. Policy recommendations were therefore put forward in this study to promote the ecological security of urban agglomerations from different perspectives.

Exploring the food, energy, and water governance in South‐West Iran

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the social network governing the Nexus of food, energy, and water. Khuzestan province was selected because it has 2.2 million hectares of potential agricultural lands, 190,000 farmers, and produces 11.2 million tons of agricultural production per year. This study used a mixed‐method and data was collected using field surveys. In the first step, using the notion of problem‐shed and issue network, the composition of the Food–Energy–Water (FEW) nexus and its boundaries are determined. In the second step, ‘the social network analysis’ method was used to analyze the structural configuration of the FEW nexus networks. Network surveys were conducted among different actors from different departments and different administrative levels. Also, some key informants such as the university faculty members participated in the network survey. The network data was analyzed using the UCINET software. The results showed that actors tend to communicate with actors within the group. Meanwhile, the actors of the industrial sector as well as the Khuzestan Water and Power Association, tend to establish extra‐group communication at a very high level. Finally, we proffer recommendations based upon lessons learned from this investigation to use in other study areas.

Trends in the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Research

This paper aims to analyze the scientific evolution and research trends concerning the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus, as well as its development within scientific databases. To achieve this, a bibliometric analysis has been conducted using publications sourced from Scopus and Web of science databases. This study examined key aspects such as primary journals, prominent authors, affiliated institutions, countries of origin, subject areas, and notable keywords. Furthermore, there is a dedicated section that delves into research and innovation gaps within publications related to the WEF nexus. Results reveal that research on the WEF nexus has experienced exponential growth over the past decade, with the majority of publications emerging between 2017 and 2023. The United States leads in this field, with engineering and environmental science being the predominant research categories, with Spain and Italy being the prominent countries in Europe. The WEF nexus concept in the agriculture sector is notably underdeveloped, particularly in its ties with the Sustainable Development Goals and the science–policy–society interface. The study stresses the importance of integrating health considerations into the WEF Nexus to understand the interconnections and their implications on public health, thereby enriching the Nexus approach with a critical dimension of human well-being. This situation underscores the urgent need to create a nexus community that bridges science and practice, and to incorporate this specialized discipline into university curricula.

The Application of a Smart Nexus for Agriculture in Korea for Assessing the Holistic Impacts of Climate Change

Sustainable development involves maximizing the benefits of development while minimizing its consequent effects on the environment. This study uses a water–energy–food nexus framework, the Smart Nexus for Agriculture in Korea (SNAK), to assess the impact of climate change on sustainable resource management in agriculture. The nexus database applied in this study comprises three individual databases related to resources, interlinkages, and resource management scenarios, which include all variables and scenarios of the framework. Different resource management scenarios were evaluated via investigating the interlinkages between resources and quantifying resource consumption and sustainability. The variable selection and application module uses the interlinkage database to quantitatively model how the production and supply of one resource affects the consumption of other resources. The scenario analysis module involves the identification and application of resource management scenarios based on policies for individual resources and climate change. The sustainability evaluation module links the previous two modules to quantify food production, the consumption of food and energy resources, carbon (CO2) emissions, and land use in each scenario. Finally, resource security and economic benefits were considered when estimating the sustainability index of each scenario. The SNAK platform is anticipated to possess the ability to analyze environmental, social, and economic systems grounded in water, energy, and food. It is believed that the platform can optimize the timing and allocation of agricultural resources, leading to the derivation of optimal management scenarios. Furthermore, the platform will utilize water–energy–food linkage assessments to formulate scenario-based policies addressing food demand, water resource utilization, and energy consumption.

Applying a water-energy-food nexus approach to seafood products from the European Atlantic area

By 2050, food production's environmental impacts are projected to double without intervention. Crucial changes in dietary habits are needed, and seafood can be pivotal. The focus in calculating burdens using life cycle assessment (LCA) indicators has shifted towards exploring interconnections within the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus. Addressing this evolution, this manuscript has applied an innovative methodology to calculate a WEF nexus index (WEFni). This index seamlessly integrates both environmental and nutritional profiles across diverse case studies involving fisheries, aquaculture, and processing production systems in the European Atlantic area. The results showed that when it comes to fishing, purse seine fishing obtained the highest score (99%). For the aquaculture activities, seafood (>73%) obtained better results than fish farming. About processing treatments, freezing (>79%) has lower environmental loads than canning. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was carried out according to a caloric- and edible-based functional unit as well as the modification of the weighting factors assigned to each footprint, in which important variations were reported in the WEFni of most case studies. Consequently, although the methodological guidelines supporting the WEFni have great potential to serve as an ecolabeling tool, certain aspects need to be re-evaluated. On the other hand, it could be interesting to include the potential biodiversity loss, as well as other socioeconomic indicators, with the purpose of considering a more sustainability criteria. Finally, the contribution of this paper to the food industry literature is of paramount importance, as it represents a first step towards holistic assessments and easy-to-understand ecolabelling processes that can promote sustainable production and consumption.

Bridging the gap between the water-energy-food nexus and compound risks

Abstract The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus is a concept and approach to examine the interactions of water, energy, and food resources. Similarly, compound risks are a set of risk types that consider multiple connected factors that amplify risks. While both concepts are promoted as approaches to move beyond silos and address complex problems in environmental governance, there has been limited exploration of their overlap. Our study integrates these two approaches for more holistic assessment and management of resources in the context of climate risks. We examine the connections between the WEF nexus and compound risk in two ways. First, we review the literature to identify previous conceptual connections between the WEF nexus and compound risks. Second, we review seven case studies with WEF nexus interactions and compound risks to identify how the two approaches might be considered in practice. Our results demonstrate that there is limited, though not non-existent, integration of the two concepts in both the theoretical literature and in the case studies. The four of the seven cases that do show some level of connection in practice demonstrate opportunities for greater integration in the future, such as leveraging the water sector as a bridge to address WEF nexus and compound risk challenges together.

Rural and Urban Transitions with Biogas and Biomethane in Brazil: a Water Energy-Food Nexus Analysis

Brazil has historical concerns about renewable sources of energy, mainly because it is the largest tropical country in the world, receiving intense solar radiation, which is the basis of biomass production. In addition, the country has exceptional soil and climate conditions and great biodiversity. Agriculture and livestock activities are very representative in the Brazilian economy and produce usable biomass, which entail renewable sources of energy and the need for residue management. In this context, biogas represents a basic energy source; it is generated via planned treatment of animal, human and industrial wastes. This has two main results: a) the generation of electric, thermal, and vehicular (biomethane) energy; and b) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and resultant mitigation of global warming. This paper assesses agricultural biogas projects being developed by Itaipu Binational, the second largest hydroelectric power generation company in the world, which has diversified its energy production from hydropower into other renewable sources such as biogas. In addition to promoting environmental and economic benefits, it promotes local social development, since the process for biogas production constitutes and sustains a relatively complex supply chain, requiring local skilled labor, technical and scientific support, and environmental awareness in the population. We conclude with implications of the Itaipu biogas case example for a range of other contexts.

Quantifying interactions in the water-energy-food nexus: data-driven analysis utilizing a causal inference method

Introduction: There is a pressing need for a holistic approach to optimize water-energy-food (WEF) resources management and to address their interlinkages with other resources due to population growth, socio-economic development, and climate change. However, the structural and spatial extent of the WEF system boundaries cause exponential growth in computational complexity, making exploratory data analysis crucial to obtain insight into the system’s characteristics and focus on critical components.Methods: This study conducts a multiscale investigation of the WEF nexus within the Canadian prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), utilizing causal-correlational analysis and the multispatial Convergence Cross Mapping (mCCM) method. Initially, we employed regression analysis to establish equations, along with their coefficients of determination (R2), to identify patterns among pairs of WEF sectors, gross domestic product (GDP), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Subsequently, we conducted a causal analysis between correlated pairs using the mCCM method to explore the cause-and-effect relationships between sector pairs within the Canadian prairie provinces; both individually and as a single unit over the period 1990-2020.Results and discussion: Results show that energy and water are the most influential sectors on GHG emissions and GDP in the prairies as a whole. Energy has a stronger influence on GHG compared to water and food sectors, while water has the strongest causal influence on the GDP of Alberta, and food and energy do so for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, respectively. The trade-offs for improving WEF nexus security strongly depend on the scale of the system under investigation, highlighting the need for careful deliberations around boundary judgment for decision-making. This study provides a better understanding of the WEF-GDP-GHG nexus in the Canadian prairies and existing interrelationships among the aforementioned sectors, helping to build more efficient WEF nexus models for further simulation and scenario analysis.

Application of the food-energy-water nexus to six seafood supply chains: hearing from wild and farmed seafood supply chain actors in the United States, Norway, and Vietnam

IntroductionThe food-energy-water (FEW) nexus highlights the interdependencies between the systems that people rely on for these essential resources. For example, globally, over two thirds of freshwater withdrawals are used to produce food, and another 10% is used during energy generation. In addition, the food system uses one eighth of global net energy. Seafood is a nutritionally important food, and it is critical to use freshwater and energy resources efficiently throughout seafood supply chains to safeguard future supplies and to reduce environmental impacts. Diverse seafood production methods result in highly variable resource use across supply chains, which may contribute to siloed efforts within supply chains to improve efficiency, instead of larger efforts that involve multiple seafood supply chains. Additionally, efforts to develop and implement efficiency strategies must be informed by fishers, aquaculturists, processors, and other seafood supply chain actors to avoid investing time and resources into strategies that will have low uptake. A significant proportion of seafood is imported into the U.S., so engaging with industry and stakeholders in the U.S. and abroad is critical for understanding and improving the FEW nexus associated with seafood consumed by Americans.MethodsTo understand how resources are being used, current and potential strategies to improve resource use, and relevant motivations and barriers, we conducted 47 semi-structured interviews from 2019 to 2021 with seafood supply chain actors, including producers and processors. Seafood supply chains included were farmed catfish produced in the U.S., farmed pangasius and shrimp produced in Vietnam, farmed Atlantic salmon produced in Norway, and wild-caught sockeye and pink salmon caught in the U.S.ResultsWe provide detailed descriptions of stages within each supply chain regarding resource use and efficiency strategies, and report higher-level findings that apply across supply chains. There was variation across settings regarding how resources are used and opportunities and barriers for improving efficiencies, but we also found commonalities in settings, indicating that resource-saving strategies or innovations could lead to increased efficiency across multiple supply chains. Interviewees shared that cost savings drove past adoption of, and high interest in, energy conservation practices. Generally, direct costs did not motivate reduced use of freshwater, but associated costs like energy to run pumps and supplies to treat contaminated surface water drove interest in reducing water use.DiscussionEfforts to improve resource use in the U.S. seafood supply should focus on identifying and scaling-up strategies that (i) involve improved efficiency of more than one resource and/or (ii) apply across multiple settings. This work should involve partnerships between industry, government agencies, and academic researchers, and should be informed by supply chain actors’ experiences and insights. The qualitative insights from this study encompass rich descriptions of FEW-relevant factors at the level of specific supply chain stages as well as findings across six major seafood supply chains in three countries. The study provides an essential complement to existing quantitative characterizations of resource use, and enables nuanced and informed responses to challenges.

Water-energy-food nexus efficiency and its factor analysis in China: A dynamic series-loop DDF model

This paper presents an analysis of the water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) system, focusing on its interlinked structure and dynamic characteristics. This paper proposes a dynamic series-loop data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with a directional distance function for measuring WEFN efficiency in China. A spatial Durbin model is constructed to investigate the impact of extreme temperatures on WEFN efficiency. The results are as follows. (1) Compared with the black-box DEA model and series network DEA model, a series-loop network DEA model can reflect the “networking effect” and “looping effect” in the WEFN system. (2) The WEFN system performs well with an average series-loop efficiency of 0.875, but the efficiency of the water subsystem scores low and needs improvement. (3) At the national level, extremely high and low temperatures have no significant effect on the WEFN efficiency in local or adjacent provinces, whereas average temperature promotes the WEFN efficiency in local provinces but hinders it in neighboring provinces. In the regions with a low temperature difference, average temperature has no impact on the WEFN efficiency of both the province itself and its neighboring provinces. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the complex interlinkages within the WEFN system and highlights the importance of considering these relationships when improving the system efficiency.

A review of Unveiling the Interconnections of Food- Energy- Water in Urban Environments

Food, energy and water are indispensable resources that meet basic human needs, and maintaining a balance among these resources is essential to ensure global food security and social stability. However, the climate is deteriorating with increasing severity due to global warming, and issues such as widespread food shortages, water pollution, and energy depletion are causing concerns across the globe. The nexus of foodenergy- water (FEW) has become the most pressing and complex issue to be addressed at present. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic review of recent research achievements and challenges in the field of FEW. It first introduces the concept of few and related policies, explores the challenges and crises of the FEW systems by different urban scales, and summarizes and concludes the research on the multivariate elements of the FEW nexus. At the end of the paper, based on the analysis of the previous literature, the paper identifies the urgent gaps and challenges that need to be addressed in future research.

Review of water–energy–food nexus applications in the Global South

Review of water–energy–food nexus applications in the Global South

Optimization of water-energy-food nexus via an integrated system of solar-assisted desalination and farming

This paper introduces a systematic framework for water-energy-food (WEF) nexus with focus on integrating water desalination (via reverse osmosis and thermal desalination), energy generation (from fossil-based power plants and solar panels), and crop production. Specifically, the paper provides generally applicable and new contributions in formulating WEF nexus problems as multi-objective, multi-period optimization problems with data-driven models based on field work. The paper also established a systematic method for integrating and reconciling farming methods, water technologies, energy-resource selection and operation, carbon footprint, and economic factors. A superstructure representation is used to embed the candidate options and configurations. An optimization formulation is developed to determine the optimal system configuration, water and energy uses and sources, and crop mix selection. A multi-period model is developed to account for the seasonal variability. The optimization model is solved under different carbon-footprint cuts to establish a tradeoff curve between the economic and environmental objectives. To generate the necessary experimental data for a meaningful case study, a year-long field study was carried out to generate experimental data for three fields were constructed in Kuwait using open-field, agrivoltaic, and greenhouse farming methods. The field data were extracted and coupled with the optimization formulation to apply the proposed approach to a case study. First, the optimization formulation was solved to maximize the net profit with no limits on the carbon footprint. The solution of this relaxed formulation gives a maximum profit of 2.127 MM USD/y and an annual emission of 2242 tonne CO2eq. Next, the optimization formulation was solved with the objective of minimizing the total annual emissions. The result was a minimum annual emission of 363 tonne CO2eq that corresponded to 1.366 MM USD/y of profit. The ɛ-constraint method was employed to establish tradeoffs between the economic and environmental objectives. The solutions also provided valuable information on the percentage contribution of solar energy and water sources.

Experimental results, integrated model validation, and economic aspects of agrivoltaic systems at northern latitudes

Agrivoltaic systems, which allow the coexistence of crop and electricity production on the same land, are an integrated water–energy–food nexus solution that allows the simultaneous attainment of conflicting Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to analyse experimental results on the responses of ley grass yield and quality to shadings in the first agrivoltaic system in Sweden. It also aims to validate an integrated modelling platform for assessing agrivoltaic systems' performances before installation. An economic analysis is carried out to compare the profitability of agrivoltaic versus conventional ground-mounted photovoltaic systems and, using a Monte Carlo Analysis, to identify the parameters that most affect the profitability. Despite the agrivoltaic systems’ supporting structures and photovoltaic modules producing an average ∼25% reduction in photosynthetically active radiation at ground level, no statistically significant difference was observed between the yield of the samples under the agrivoltaic system compared to the yield of the samples in the reference area. The agrivoltaic system attained land equivalent ratios of 1.27 and 1.39 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The validation results of the integrated modelling platform show that the sub-model concerning the crop yield response to shading conditions tends to underestimate ∼7% the actual average crop yield under the agrivoltaic system. The results of the economic analysis show that, from a net present value perspective, agrivoltaic systems have a profitability that is ∼30 times higher than a conventional crop rotation in Sweden.

A geospatial web-based integrative analytical tool for the water-energy-food nexus: the iWEF 1.0

IntroductionThe water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has evolved into an important transformative approach for facilitating the timely identification of trade-offs and synergies between interlinked sectors for informed intervention and decision-making. However, there is a growing need for a WEF nexus tool to support decision-making on integrated resources management toward sustainable development.MethodsThis study developed a geospatial web-based integrative analytical tool for the WEF nexus (the iWEF) to support integrated assessment of WEF resources to support resilience building and adaptation initiatives and strategies. The tool uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish numerical correlations among WEF nexus indicators and pillars, mainly availability, productivity, accessibility, and sufficiency. The tool was calibrated and validated with existing tools and data at varying spatio-temporal scales.ResultsThe results indicate the applicability of the tool at any spatial scale, highlighting the moderate sustainability in the management of WEF resources at various scales. The developed iWEF tool has improved the existing integrative WEF nexus analytical tool in terms of processing time and providing geospatial capabilities.DiscussionThe iWEF tool is a digital platform that automatically guides policy and decision-making in managing risk from trade-offs and enhancing synergies holistically. It is developed to support policy and decision-making on timely interventions in priority areas that could be showing signs of stress.

Exploring the food-energy-water nexus in China's national industries: Insights from network structure and production disturbances

Understanding the food-energy-water nexus (FEWN) among industries' input–output activities is vital for the management of regional strategic resources. However, identifying key nexuses and quantifying their effects within an economy-wide dimension remain a challenge. This study integrated the frameworks of social network analysis (SNA) and computable general equilibrium (CGE) methods based on input–output data, presenting a new methodology to assess inter-industrial FEWN in China. Results indicated that: (1) Agriculture and catering industries were the principal food provision industries in the national economy. They also linked production activities among the food, energy, and water (FEW) sectors. (2) Fossil energy extraction industries with high betweenness centrality were the product circulation media in the industrial network. Their increased outputs could clearly boost domestic production. For instance, the yield of most national industries was expected to expand by 0.5 %–1.5 % due to a 10 % increase in coal supply. The electricity and petroleum processing industries with the highest response coefficients were the mainstays of China's economy. They exerted wide-ranging effects on other industries through short input–output paths. (3) Water-related industries could readily use products and services from other sectors and create demand-driven effects on FEW industries. In contrast, the output scale of national industries was not sensitive to changes in water input. These findings also highlighted the importance of conducting a FEWN evaluation within a balanced macroeconomic system. The proposed SNA–CGE analytical framework showcased good applicability and accuracy in the context of China and could serve as a reference method for FEWN research in other regions.

Trade-off and driving factors of water-energy-food nexus in Mu Us sandy land, China

Water, energy, and food are essential resources for human survival. The trade-off among these resources can limit regional economic development and pose challenges to livelihood security. In this study, we constructed a root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) index to measure the water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) trade-off. Multi-source data and analysis methods, including ordinary least square (OLS), geographically weighted regression (GWR), and geographic detectors (GD) are employed to explore the trade-offs of water, energy, and food resources and their dominant influencing factors in the Mu Us Sandy Land. The results indicate that the trade-off between regional water-food sub-nexus exhibited the highest magnitude, and trade-offs among all sub-nexus types demonstrated significant fluctuations in spatial distribution. Both OLS and GWR results identified temperature, precipitation, normalized differential vegetation index, slope, digital elevation model, and nighttime light as significant factors influencing the spatial differentiation of WEFN trade-offs. Moreover, geographic detector analysis indicated that precipitation is the dominant factor, and its interaction with other influencing factors further impacts the regional WEFN trade-off. The discussion section examines the RMSD method's effectiveness, the dominant factors shaping WEFN trade-offs, as well as scale effect in WEFN trade-offs in the Mu Us area and underscores that mitigation of water shortages can yield a leverage effect, leading to a marked reduction in the trade-offs. This research contributes new ideas and tools to WEFN research from a geographic perspective, aiming to provide guidance for collaborative resource management and regional sustainable development.

Determining the impact of economic indicators on water, energy and food nexus for sustainable resource security

Water, energy, and food are economic resources whose security and sustainability affect human livelihood. This paper is dedicated to exploring the influence of economic indicators on the security and sustainability of these resources within the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus. The research employed a quantitative approach, gathering data through a structured questionnaire from 282 WEF management professionals in South Africa. The collected data were subjected to statistical analyses, including mean score ranking, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) using EQS and SPSS software. The results of this study highlight the significant impact of economic indicators on the sustainable security of WEF resources. The mean ranking revealed that there is a need to understand people’s economic power for resource sustainability. The CFA and SEM analyses identify four key economic indicators that influence resource security: WEF resource pricing mechanisms, employment rates in the WEF sectors, WEF resource importation, and WEF resource exportation. In conclusion, managing economic indicators within the WEF nexus calls for strategic investment based on comparative advantage. The study provides valuable policy recommendations to support this approach.Graphical

A copula-based inexact model for managing agricultural water-energy-food nexus under differentiated composite risks and dual uncertainties

Multiple correlated risks caused by uncertain information pose great challenges to the coordinated regulation of water-energy-food nexus (WEFN). In this study, a Copula-based radial interval chance-constrained programming (CRICP) was developed. CRICP can not only quantify composite risk induced by multiple risks with nonlinear correlations, but also tackle dual uncertainty expressed as redial intervals with adjustable protection levels. CRICP was applied to an irrigated agricultural management problem constrained by water, energy, and land resource in Bayan Nur City in northern China. Results indicate that system benefit would increase with the incline of composite risk or the decline of protection level. Monte Carlo simulation verified that the different definitions of composite risk could lead to significant differences in the combination of subsystem risks. The composite risk induced by the simultaneous shortage of multiple resources would have greater impacts on system benefits compared against composite risk caused by shortage of at least one resources, with an increase of [24.65%, 25.95%] in the minimum value of system benefits. Comparisons against two alternative models further verified that CRICP outweighs previous methods by modeling the correlation structure of multiple risks and tackling dual uncertainties without distribution information.

Soil physics matters for the land–water–food–climate nexus and sustainability

AbstractSoil is a complex ecosystem within which many species interact and where physicochemical and geological processes occur at different spatiotemporal scales, with strong interactions taking place between ecological and management processes. Soil processes affect the qualities of the food and water that we eat and drink, the regulation of greenhouse gases, and are the foundation of our habitation and transportation infrastructures. However, it is estimated that over 2 billion hectares of lands are degraded, with a further 12 million hectares degraded each year causing the annual loss of 24 billion tons of fertile soil. Soil degradation negatively affects the well‐being of over 3 billion people, costing more than 10% of the annual global GDP via the loss of ecosystem services, and reducing the productivity of 23% of the global terrestrial area. The sustainable management of soil ecosystems is, therefore, fundamental to global food, water, and energy security, especially under increasingly unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change. The land–water–food–energy nexus is central to sustainable development and soil inextricably links these critical domains. Stakeholders and decision‐makers in all four domains are necessarily focusing on the effects of soil degradation on climate change, water resource management, and food production as key to the development of sustainable agricultural practices and policies. A properly integrated approach to managing rural soils is thus required to ensure global water, food, and energy security, whilst increasing and protecting biodiversity. This special issue collects 15 papers on recent advances on soil physical‐, hydrological‐, and biological processes, and linkages with agroecosystem sustainability across experiments, field observations, and methodological breakthroughs.