From Counting Drops to Basin: Scaling the Impact of Natural Vegetation Restoration on Freshwater Ecosystems

Scientists recognize the link between natural vegetation (e.g., forests, grasslands) and freshwater ecosystems through ecohydrological processes. Disrupting natural vegetation alters hydrological regimes, affecting surface runoff and subsurface flow, and changing sediment, nutrient, and contaminant fluxes into freshwater systems. This impacts the reliability of freshwater services like flood regulation, drought mitigation, water supply, and water quality for downstream communities.Restoring natural vegetation in degraded watersheds is seen as a solution for recovering these freshwater services, leading to the rise of unregulated 'freshwater markets' where water is traded to meet freshwater positive targets. However, restoration efforts are often small-scale, and the extent to which they can recover freshwater ecosystem services at larger scales is still not well understood.This Research Topic aims to compile diverse research on whether and how small-scale interventions can achieve basin-scale impacts. We look for research that can answer persisting questions such as, but not limited to:• What spatial and temporal thresholds are needed to restore freshwater ecosystem services in various environments?• Which hydrological processes are most affected at different scales, and to what extent?• Over what timeframes do freshwater benefits emerge, and how can their recovery be measured?• What tools and methodologies can evaluate restoration outcomes, and which strategies are most effective?• What socio-political and economic conditions support large-scale restoration initiatives? Topic editors: Maira Bezerra, Carly Maynard, Gina Arena Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/74347/from-counting-drops-to-basin-scaling-the-impact-of-natural-vegetation-restoration-on-freshwater-ecosystems