Freshwater ecosystems cover approximately 2.5% of the entire Earth. Of the available 2.5%, only about 1.2% constitutes surface water that is readily accessible for most organisms that depend on them, with the remaining being inaccessible. The pressures facing global water resources are complex and multilayered, including climate change, human population growth, and governance failures. The challenges posed by these pressures cut across ecological, social and economic barriers, defiling conventional wisdom and solutions, and requires water resource management in a changing world. This calls for urgent attention, as continuous degradation of these systems would mean a great risk to the lives that depend on them. The United Nations sustainable development goal 6 requires the relationship between ecology, society and practice to be strengthened, as a way of developing a holistic approach to water resource management.
Studies centered on assessing the health of freshwater ecosystems using combined stressors (e.g. urbanization, industrialization and agricultural influences) are common, but stressor-specific studies on the structural and functional ecology of freshwater are still modest. However, combined and/or specific stressor ecological studies surrounding freshwater health issues may not yield lasting results if socio-economic studies are not also considered. Hence, the concept of socio-ecological approaches are pertinent, if we must tackle head-on the imminent global disasters freshwater ecosystems may be subjected to.
The central goal of this Research Topic is to address the degradation of freshwater ecosystem health using multifaceted approaches that cut across ecology and socio-economic perspectives. It is only when socio-ecological approaches are considered freshwater ecosystems health can be guaranteed. An understanding of the socio-ecology of freshwater ecosystems will help to facilitate the development of novel current diagnostic and predictive tools that will enable concerned freshwater managers and other stakeholders to plan appropriate management and sustainability measures for safeguarding freshwater ecosystems health globally.
In this Research Topic, we anticipate submissions related to the use of combined and specific stressors (e.g. urban, agriculture and industrial activities) in assessing the structural and functional ecology of freshwater ecosystems using the aquatic biota (e.g. phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, fish species, among others), as well as their relationship with abiotic factors of the ecosystems. This may be original research, reviews, or case studies in a natural or controlled freshwater environment. Submissions on the use of socio-ecological approaches in addressing the issues surrounding freshwater health will be given priority as this is pivotal in addressing the issues surrounding freshwater ecosystem health.
Freshwater ecosystems cover approximately 2.5% of the entire Earth. Of the available 2.5%, only about 1.2% constitutes surface water that is readily accessible for most organisms that depend on them, with the remaining being inaccessible. The pressures facing global water resources are complex and multilayered, including climate change, human population growth, and governance failures. The challenges posed by these pressures cut across ecological, social and economic barriers, defiling conventional wisdom and solutions, and requires water resource management in a changing world. This calls for urgent attention, as continuous degradation of these systems would mean a great risk to the lives that depend on them. The United Nations sustainable development goal 6 requires the relationship between ecology, society and practice to be strengthened, as a way of developing a holistic approach to water resource management.
Studies centered on assessing the health of freshwater ecosystems using combined stressors (e.g. urbanization, industrialization and agricultural influences) are common, but stressor-specific studies on the structural and functional ecology of freshwater are still modest. However, combined and/or specific stressor ecological studies surrounding freshwater health issues may not yield lasting results if socio-economic studies are not also considered. Hence, the concept of socio-ecological approaches are pertinent, if we must tackle head-on the imminent global disasters freshwater ecosystems may be subjected to.
The central goal of this Research Topic is to address the degradation of freshwater ecosystem health using multifaceted approaches that cut across ecology and socio-economic perspectives. It is only when socio-ecological approaches are considered freshwater ecosystems health can be guaranteed. An understanding of the socio-ecology of freshwater ecosystems will help to facilitate the development of novel current diagnostic and predictive tools that will enable concerned freshwater managers and other stakeholders to plan appropriate management and sustainability measures for safeguarding freshwater ecosystems health globally.
In this Research Topic, we anticipate submissions related to the use of combined and specific stressors (e.g. urban, agriculture and industrial activities) in assessing the structural and functional ecology of freshwater ecosystems using the aquatic biota (e.g. phytoplankton, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, fish species, among others), as well as their relationship with abiotic factors of the ecosystems. This may be original research, reviews, or case studies in a natural or controlled freshwater environment. Submissions on the use of socio-ecological approaches in addressing the issues surrounding freshwater health will be given priority as this is pivotal in addressing the issues surrounding freshwater ecosystem health.
