Frontiers in freshwater ecology, conservation and water treatment technologies

Freshwater ecosystems are biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and offer a wide range of vital services to humanity, particularly water and food supplies, aesthetic, spiritual, and scientific stimuli, and water purification. Nevertheless, they are one of the most threatened types of ecosystems, facing complex challenges [1,2,3]. Indeed, freshwater habitats and existing water resources are rapidly being pushed to their limits due to urban population growth, the rising demand for food and consumer goods, and pressures caused by pollution and climate change [4,5]. The existing nexus of human well-being and freshwater ecosystem health [6] implies that sustainable water use encompasses the simultaneous conservation and restoration of freshwater aquatic habitats and the protection of water quality and quantity by human societies. The optimization of water use in urban and agricultural areas and industrial processes by (1) reducing water consumption through the adoption of efficient devices and (2) implementing water treatment technologies and water reuse will allow for a reduction in the pressure on freshwater ecosystems.