Coastal wetlands represent critical transition zones where terrestrial and marine environments interact, providing diverse and indispensable ecosystem services. These include supporting biodiversity, regulating nutrient cycles, and acting as natural buffers that mitigate the impacts of climate change. Their multifunctionality confers substantial ecological, economic, and social value. However, recent research highlights the growing vulnerability of coastal wetlands caused by rapid urbanization, which brings increased construction, pollution, and runoff. These anthropogenic impacts are exacerbated by climate change, with rising sea levels and intensified storm events posing additional threats. Technological advances in molecular biology, analytical chemistry, and remote sensing are opening new avenues for ecosystem monitoring, assessment, and restoration. Yet, there remains a critical need for integrative frameworks that combine mechanistic ecosystem understanding with practical management strategies to effectively protect these vital areas.

This Research Topic seeks to address the urgent challenges facing coastal wetlands by fostering interdisciplinary research that spans monitoring, management, and restoration ("melioration"). We aim to promote studies that integrate knowledge from marine science, ecology, biology, and environmental science to deepen our understanding of coastal ecosystem structure, function, and resilience. Submissions are encouraged to explore the application of innovative, nature-based solutions and ecosystem service optimization, focusing on habitats such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. The goal is to showcase research that advances scientific understanding and translates into practical measures to support wetland sustainability, biodiversity, and resilience.
We invite manuscripts that align with or surpass the following "3M" strategies to bridge science and conservation practice:
• Monitoring: Development and application of advanced technologies to track ecosystem functions and responses, including pollutant dynamics and nutrient cycling, in real time.
• Management: Formulation of adaptive, evidence-based governance frameworks that balance human activities with ecosystem resilience, optimize ecosystem service trade-offs, and translate ecological data into actionable management indicators.
• Restoration (Melioration): Implementation of mechanistic, process-driven interventions to support ecosystem recovery, focusing on restoring biodiversity, biogeochemical processes, and microbially-mediated sediment energy fluxes.

We invite contributions that advance the conservation, management, and restoration of coastal wetlands through innovative methodologies, tools, and strategic approaches. We are particularly interested in manuscripts addressing (but not limited to):
• Evaluating biodiversity changes and pollutant dynamics within coastal wetland ecosystems and their environmental impacts
• Interdisciplinary approaches using machine learning and modeling to assess trade-offs between human activity and ecosystem services
• Policy and management case studies focused on regional ecological challenges and solutions
• Development and demonstration of innovative, nature-based scientific or engineering solutions for wetland conservation and restoration
This Research Topic welcomes all article types accepted by Frontiers, including original research, reviews, perspectives, and case studies. Our aim is to bring together experts from various fields to foster cutting-edge discussions and actionable insights for the protection and sustainable management of coastal wetlands.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Integrating Ecological Methods for Coastal Wetland Protection: Innovative Monitoring, Management, and Restoration