{
  "abstract": "Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is vital for the long-term sustainability of human well-being and the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.3.1. We estimated the overall indicator of SDG 15.3.1, the proportion of land that is degraded over the total land area in the Central Region, Malawi, from 2001 to 2022, using the Trends.Earth tool in QGIS. The study applied the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Good Practice Guidance methodology for SDG Indicator 15.3.1 assessment, integrating land cover, land productivity, and soil organic carbon (SOC) sub-indicators. The default datasets in the Trends.Earth plugin were adopted for all sub-indicators. The study has revealed that: (i) The proportion of degraded land increased from 26.8% in the baseline period (2001–2015) to 41.2% in the monitoring period (2016–2022). Stable land area decreased from 62.2% to 55.7%, while improved land area declined from 10.0% to 2.0%. Overall, during the entire study period (2001–2022), 27.1% of the land remained degraded, 62.4% was stable, and 9.4% improved. (ii) Land with degraded productivity significantly declined from 74.5% to 29.3%. In contrast, land with stable productivity slightly increased from 1.1% to 1.9%. (iii) SOC levels remained largely stable (>97%), although slight losses occurred in cropland, grassland, and wetland areas. (iv) Land cover remained predominantly stable (96.7%) throughout the study period. The overall SDG 15.3.1 indicator indicates continued degradation trends exceeding the rate of land recovery and restoration. This study has highlighted key spatial patterns and identified insights into the priority areas for targeted LDN interventions in the Central Region of Malawi. The findings provide critical evidence for guiding sustainable land management strategies and accelerating progress toward achieving land degradation neutrality in Malawi.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Land and Water Resources, Faculty of Life Sciences and Natural Resources, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi",
    "Ndata School of Climate and Earth Sciences, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Limbe, Malawi",
    "Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Lilongwe, Malawi",
    "Department of Water and Sanitation, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Mzuzu University, Mzuzu, Malawi",
    "Stockholm Environment Institute, World Agroforestry Centre, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kennedy Sones Nazombe"
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    {
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        1
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      "name": "Charles Bakolo"
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    {
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        2
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      "name": "Brighton A. Chunga"
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    {
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        3
      ],
      "name": "Principal Mdolo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jean Mtethiwa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rodrick Mlewa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kennedy Adamson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Devie Chilonga"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kelvin Chomanika"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9208j0htacesh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0362061",
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  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "native_subjects": [
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      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems"
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      "/Earth sciences/Geomorphology/Topography/Landforms/Wetlands"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Hydrology/Surface water"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Marine and aquatic sciences/Aquatic environments/Freshwater environments/Wetlands"
    ],
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      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Aquatic environments/Freshwater environments/Wetlands"
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      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Conservation science"
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      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems"
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      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Plant ecology/Plant communities/Grasslands"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Sustainability science"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Terrestrial environments/Grasslands"
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      "/People and places/Geographical locations/Africa/Malawi"
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  "openalex": null,
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  "published": "2026-11-05",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-06T12:20:42Z",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:ecology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
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  "title": "Land degradation neutrality state and progress in the Central Region, Malawi",
  "title_text": "Land degradation neutrality state and progress in the Central Region, Malawi",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:20:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9208j0htacesh",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
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}