Forest Ecosystem: Hydrology and People

Forest ecosystem research examines the complex interconnections among vegetation, soil, water, wildlife, and human communities. These systems are shaped by both biophysical processes such as nutrient cycling and hydrology, climatic conditions, and human activities including land use and resource management. Hydrological functions and community livelihoods are central to ecosystem resilience, necessitating integrated approaches that balance ecological integrity with socio-economic sustainability.

Forests play a critical role in intercepting precipitation, regulating runoff, recharging aquifers, filtering pollutants, and sustaining local and regional water supplies. However, increasing disturbances from logging, land-use change, and degradation threaten to disrupt these processes, leading to increased runoff, flash floods, changing groundwater levels, and deteriorating water quality. Recent years have seen increased frequency of hydrological extremes—such as intense rainfall, prolonged droughts, and accelerated glacial retreat—underscoring the need to understand the forest–hydrology–people nexus. Despite the growing awareness, gaps persist in integrated research, particularly in linking local management practices with regional or global environmental outcomes and in evaluating the long-term resilience of forest ecosystem services.

This Research Topic aims to deepen scientific and practical understanding of the mutual interactions among forests, water resources, and human societies. The primary objectives integrate understanding of forest influences on hydrological cycles with assessing impacts of human activities and climate change, and evaluating management of sustainable forest–water–people relationships. We welcome original research, reviews, and case studies focused on the interplay between forest hydrology and human wellbeing at multiple scales, in any forest type, or global region.

Potential themes include, but are not limited to:
1. Community-based approaches to managing forest hydrological services
2. Incentive mechanisms, including payment for ecosystem services (PES)
3. How forest structure influences hydrological outcomes and water quality
4. Watershed resilience, restoration, and adaptive management
5. Urban and peri-urban forest water management
6. Local institutions and community engagement in water governance

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Forest Ecosystem Service, Forest Degradation, Forest fringe community and forest conservation, forest hydrology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.