Frontiers in European Freshwater Science: Addressing Stress, Biodiversity, and Restoration in a Changing World

Freshwater ecosystems across Europe are experiencing unprecedented pressures from climate change, pollution, habitat fragmentation, biological invasions, and shifting land-use dynamics. This Research Topic presents a comprehensive overview of the most recent advances in European freshwater science, featuring a curated selection of contributions from the 14th Symposium of European Freshwater Sciences (SEFS14), alongside an open call for articles that extend and deepen the thematic scope. Together, these works offer critical insights into the functioning, degradation, and restoration of freshwater systems—from catchment-scale hydrological processes and groundwater resilience to microplastic impacts, biodiversity dynamics, and nature-based solutions.

This Research Topic emphasizes both conceptual innovation and applied relevance, highlighting how interdisciplinary research and novel methodologies—such as eDNA, high-resolution monitoring, ecosystem modeling, and trait-based ecology—are shaping the future of freshwater management and policy in Europe. By integrating findings from diverse aquatic environments—ranging from non-perennial streams and urban rivers to alpine lakes and floodplain wetlands—this collection advances our understanding of ecological responses to global change and the levers available for achieving sustainable and adaptive freshwater governance. It serves as a timely reference for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers committed to securing the resilience and biodiversity of Europe's inland waters.

A central thread running through the issue is the interaction between scientific knowledge and European environmental policy, with a special focus on the implementation and evolution of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR). Several articles critically examine the science underpinning freshwater restoration, from conceptual frameworks and ecological targets to monitoring metrics and societal co-benefits. Others explore how restoration efforts can be designed to respond not only to ecological degradation but also to climate resilience and multifunctionality in landscapes. By bridging research and policy, this Research Topic contributes to a growing body of work that informs actionable strategies for meeting Europe’s freshwater objectives in the Anthropocene.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Freshwater ecosystems, climate change, restoration, biodiversity, policy, interdisciplinary research, monitoring, resilience

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.