Scope

Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly threatened by the multiple interacting stressors of the Anthropocene, with many adverse consequences exacerbated by climate change, as highlighted by COP26, COP15 and the SDGs. Fundamental regimes of water flows, sediment, nutrients and energy are changing, connectivity patterns are disrupted, alien species are spreading, and new pollutants are emerging, whilst human populations burgeon and water demands exceed supplies. We are losing freshwater biodiversity, ecological goods and ecosystem services of vital importance to human health, livelihoods and well-being globally.  

The Freshwater Science section aims to improve our knowledge and understanding of these issues, highlighting how we can adapt to climate change and optimally manage these systems. Our scope includes fundamental ecosystem science and understanding the impact of human activities, including climate change, on freshwater biodiversity, ecosystems and their services. We encourage contributions on evidence-based management options, threat mitigation, and strategic ecological restoration and ecosystem conservation, integrated into systems of socio-ecological governance and policy. Emphasis will be given to interdisciplinary and inclusive collaborations among stakeholders with indigenous, societal and scientific knowledge, utilizing technical expertise at all levels of management and governance.  

Key themes and topics in scope include:

Basic Freshwater Science

- Landscape, geomorphological, hydrological, physical, chemical and biological properties of: springs, streams, rivers, wetlands, freshwater and saline lakes, reservoirs and groundwater-dependent ecosystems; connected boundary systems; and transitional waters.

- Temporal and spatial variability in freshwater ecosystem properties; dynamic relationships and processes at scale (genetic, population, community and ecosystem); connectivity and its consequences.

- Inclusive stakeholder engagement in biodiversity inventories, identification of knowledge gaps and research priorities, case studies and scenario modelling.

Multiple stressors, interactions, and monitoring

- Ecological responses to individual stressors (flow regime change, loss of connectivity, habitat loss, water pollution, alien species, exploitation, climate change).

- Ecological responses to multiple stressor syndromes (urban, agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining, energy, transport, tourism and recreation).

- Interactions of climate change with individual and multiple stressors, understanding outcomes and implications for management.

Restoration and Conservation

- Importance and valuation of freshwater biodiversity, ecological goods and ecosystem services from multiple societal perspectives.

- Restoration, rehabilitation, rewilding and conservation of freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems, including problem identification, priority setting, planning recovery actions; trade-off analysis and best practice; effective integration with terrestrial and marine restoration and conservation programs.

- Climate change implications for freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration; approaches to planning and management under shifting regimes of climate, development and societal expectations; building resilience.

Socio-ecological science, governance and policy

- Inclusive, equitable societal/cultural engagement in freshwater ecosystem knowledge generation, science, problem identification, gap analysis, management options, communication, governance and policy.

- Evidence and insights on what works (or fails) in conservation, restoration and management of freshwater ecosystems, stemming from broad inclusive stakeholder engagement and socio-ecological approaches.

- Compelling engagement with global terrestrial and marine conservation communities/specialists to enhance/elevate the status of freshwater systems in conservation agendas, policy options, management recommendations and financing.

- Engagement with the food-water, environment, energy nexus; contributions to methods, modelling, scenario and tradeoff analysis.

Individual papers and Research Topics are warmly invited within and between these themes and topics. Research Topics that fall at the interface with other sections of Frontiers in Environmental Science are also welcome.

Submission

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