Wetland Ecosystems: Diversity, Threats, Resilience and Adaptation in the Context of Increased Climate Change
A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biogeography and Macroecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Wetlands are widespread throughout the world, including in deserts, attesting to their high diversity. They are recognized as being amongst the most productive and precious ecosystems in the world, as they hold more than 40% of the world’s living species, including almost 900 waterbird taxa. However, people appreciate them mainly as providers of basic resources (water, minerals, food, medicinal products, construction materials, etc.). They also play several natural functions (soil renewal and stabilization, aquifer replenishment, carbon storage, water purification, and even wastewater collection and evacuation) that are also beneficial to humans . In addition, they are considered worldwide as high-quality landscapes, in the sense that they provide diverse leisure resources (walks, bird watching, sport fishing and hunting) and very efficient illustrative examples in both education and research fields.
This means that human populations have been intimately dependent on wetlands for thousands of years, and this dependence has led to far-reaching impacts due to human pressures on these ecosystems, resulting in considerable losses of habitats, species, functions and services. The increase in the world population has certainly exacerbated this degradation, but for more than four decades, climate change has greatly amplified these losses. Mainly manifesting as recurrent droughts, climate change has led to a serious shortage of water, at a time when demand for water is sharply rising worldwide, for both population subsistence (i.e. drinking and household activities) and biodiversity conservation, as well as for human development (agriculture, industry, tourism).
In fact, two-thirds of the world population is suffering due to water shortage, which has led to several social and economic crises such as famines and emigration. This justifies the varied and intensive international mechanisms that have been implemented in favor of wetland conservation. However, the continuous loss of wetlands proves that the scientific knowledge, as a crucial basis for this form of conservation, is still incompletely explored or insufficiently communicated to relevant managers.
This Special Issue primarily aims to contribute to the international and national efforts for wetland conservation in the context of increasing climate change. Papers may address diverse topics, from basic knowledge on ecosystem components and functions to management approaches in conservation. However, we will prioritize contributions related to climate change effects and to innovative conservation solutions, mainly in terms of wetland resilience and adaptation.
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Dakki
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- wetland ecosystems
- flora
- fauna
- waterbirds
- ecology
- diversity
- threats
- climate change
- conservation management
- resilience
- adaptation
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