Restoration of Biodiversity in Streams and Rivers

Dear Colleagues,

Conversion of natural ecosystems for promoting a rapidly-growing human population occurs at alarming rates, causing unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss and associated ecosystem services. Freshwater ecosystems are particularily threathened. These systems naturally host an extraordinarily rich, endemic, and sensitive biota, but over the last few decades, critical declines for several species have been recorded. Restoration of the natural properties of river and stream ecosystem is a widely practiced over the world, but many projects fail or are never adequately evaluated and the efficiency of restoration as a measure to halt species loss can therefore be questioned. In this Special Issue of Water, we aim to gather new findings on effects of restoration of streams and rivers on the abundance and viability of freshwater communities that can serve to guide future restoration efforts. We put special focus on the fate of species that have undergone severe declines over the last decades, including also IUCN-listed freshwater species. Knowledge on species-specific habitat requirements is a basic premise for successful restoration of habitats for these species. We therefore encourage research that include an evaluation of the extent to which restoration efforts have succeeded in creating suitable habitats for these species. Furthermore, research that explore the importance of metapopulation dynamics for restoration success is encouraged.

Dr. Annette Baattrup-Pedersen
Dr. Tenna Riis
Dr. Jes J. Rasmussen
Guest Editors

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