Environmental Status, Stressors, and Recovery Challenges in the Black Sea

The Black Sea is one of the world’s most environmentally stressed semi-enclosed seas. Decades of nutrient enrichment, industrial contamination, overfishing, and habitat loss have been compounded by climate change, emerging pollutants, and the environmental fallout of regional conflict. Its strong stratification and persistent deep-water hypoxia make the ecosystem unusually sensitive to both land-based and marine pressures. Regional monitoring programs and international initiatives have advanced our understanding, but major gaps remain around cumulative impacts, tipping points, and realistic recovery trajectories.New tools are opening fresh ground. Environmental DNA (eDNA), improved contaminant analytics, and ecosystem modeling now allow finer diagnosis of stressor interactions, while interoperable regional databases and information platforms are making field observations more accessible, harmonized, and comparable across riparian states. This Research Topic brings these strands together to support ecosystem-based management, restoration planning, and long-term recovery of the Black Sea.We welcome interdisciplinary contributions that connect physical, chemical, and biological data to ecosystem health and management outcomes. Priority themes include:- Hydrophysical change: stratification, hypoxia, and climate-driven shifts-Eutrophication and contaminant fate: including conflict-related pollution and emerging contaminants- Biodiversity and protected species — trends, indicators, and impacts on cetaceans and other sensitive taxa- Innovative monitoring: eDNA, biodiversity assessment, and ecological indicators- Ecosystem modeling and forecasting: projecting recovery under climate and management scenarios- Data integration: interoperable databases, visualization, and decision-support platforms- Restoration and management: assessment frameworks, evaluation of restoration effectiveness, and science–policy linkageOriginal research, reviews, methods papers, data reports, and perspectives are all welcome. Together, these contributions will strengthen the evidence base for protecting Black Sea biodiversity and securing long-term ecological sustainability in the region. Topic editors: Richard J Wenning, Viktor Komorin, Baris Salihoglu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81819/environmental-status-stressors-and-recovery-challenges-in-the-black-sea