Editorial: Effects of climate change on urban streams in the Anthropocene: how ready are we to tackle this looming danger?

Résumé

Rising temperatures further compound these challenges (Zhang et al., 2024). Elevated air temperatures increase stream water temperatures, reducing dissolved oxygen concentrations and creating stressful conditions for temperature-sensitive aquatic organisms (Johnson et al., 2024;Lyu et al., 2026). Warmer waters also promote the proliferation of harmful algal blooms, which impair ecosystem functioning, reduce water quality, and pose risks to both human and ecological health (Sousa et al., 2025;Lu et al., 2026). In many Mediterranean, semi-arid, tropical and subtropical regions, prolonged droughts and increased evapotranspiration have contributed to declining stream flows and reduced water availability, further threatening the ecological integrity of urban waterways.Climate change is also altering streamflow regimes by affecting the timing, magnitude, and variability of water flows (Zhang et al., 2025). Such changes disrupt habitat availability, species migration, reproductive cycles, and ecosystem resilience, potentially leading to biodiversity loss and shifts in community taxonomic and functional structure (Feio et al., 2015;Tonkin, 2021). As urbanization continues to expand, particularly across countries of the global south[EE1][DDO2], an increasing number of streams are being incorporated into urban catchments, intensifying their exposure to both climatic and anthropogenic pressures.Despite the growing awareness of climate change impacts on freshwater systems, research specifically examining how climatic shifts can change reshapes urban stream ecosystems remains fragmented. This Research Topic "Effects of climate change on urban streams in the Anthropocene: how ready are we to tackle this looming danger?" soughteeks to advance the understanding of the complex interactions between climate change and urban stream dynamics globally. We invited , contributionswhile highlighting innovative approaches tofor hydrological modelling, monitoring, adaptation, restoration, and sustainable management. Addressing these challenges is critical for safeguarding urban freshwater ecosystems and enhancing their resilience in an increasingly uncertain climatic future. In addressing the challenges posed by climate change, one of the articles published in this Research Topic, proposed a novel quantitative approach to assessing integrating the resistance, resilience and stability of a river ecosystem and its driving factors (Yue et al.). The Han River Basin in China was selected by the authors as it has for its distinctive climate characteristics and evidence of significant anthropogenic impact. Thise river basin has been reported to be subjected to urbanization, dam construction, variations in precipitation, and internal factors which include Total Phosphorus (TP) and Electrical Conductivity (EC) ( (Li et al., 2008). Other river systems in China have also been reported to experience varied degrees of anthropogenic pressure, such as urbanization and dam construction, in China, e.g., Yellow River (Ma et al., 2025). The Han River study proposed a novel and comprehensive method for evaluating the resilience, resistance and stability of river ecosystems based on variations in the diversity of zoobenthos, zooplankton, and phytoplankton. This study revealed that resilience in the lower reaches of the river decreased by 35.75% compared to the upstream reaches. of the river. They also noted that u Urbanization had the most significant negative impact on the ecosystem stability, followed by change in climatic conditions, represented by precipitation, river velocity and discharge which together enhance water exchange and diffusion of organic pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus (Liu et al., 2024b), and influence levels of DO, nutrients and conductivity (Liu Y. et al., 2024c). Therefore, increased precipitation negatively impacts the diversity of aquatic organisms, and reduces ecosystem stability. precipitation and dam construction, while environmental variables such as TP, DO, and EC affected the ecosystem stability. In mitigating the impacts caused by these changes in the environment, they proposed a novel and comprehensive method based on the diversity of zoobenthos, zooplankton, and phytoplankton, which will help in evaluating the resilience and resistance of river ecosystems. Overall, their the findings of this study highlighted the need for targeted conservation strategies to mitigate human-induced disturbances and which can help enhance river ecosystem stability. Watershed management and ecological restoration support systems were recommended for sustainable river conservation.Aside from the impact of urbanization and dam construction outlined by Yue et al., hHydraulic investigations of the impacts of projected climate change and land cover changes on flooding events in the Pinacanauan de Ilagan River a river in Isabela, Philippines wereas explored by Yumol and Santos. Using projected rainfall patterns to project future climate conditions, estimates of two different land cover levels were used to represent changes in development of highly built-up areas and the influence of landcover versus climate change on a flood depths model. Their results revealed that flood depths increased to as high as 12.83% between 2015-2020 while increased precipitation as a representation of future climate generated has flood depths of 19.79% which signifyies that climate has greater more negative impacts on river flooding compared tothan land cover change. Theseir findings highlighted the need for strategic planning of future developments to reduce the potential effects on flood risk along the Ilagan River. This study can also provide insights for local decision-makers on the potential impacts of climate change on flood risk management. Finally, the authors recommended that modelled flood parameters can be incorporated in the planning, design, and site selection of future evacuation facilities to improve disaster risk management strategies for local communities.The Linqi Reservoir, located along the ancient course of the Yellow River in Shangqiu City, Henan Province, serves as one of the primary surface water sources in the region. To address water resource management pressures induced by climate change, the local government has implemented the Yellow River Abandoned Channel Water Ecological Restoration Project, aiming to enhance water resource regulation capacity. The paper by Ma et al. used monthly runoff data from 1980 to 2022 and climate factor data from 1980 to 2017, to and systematically analyzed the periodicity, abrupt changes, and climate-driven mechanisms of runoff through Extreme-point Symmetric Mode Decomposition (ESMD), Bayesian time series decomposition, and cross-wavelet analysis. they employed predictive models which include: Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), LSTM-RF, and TCN-LSTM. Their findings showed that the monthly runoff is dominated by a quasi-7.28-month periodicity at the intra-annual scale and exhibits a quasi-12-month oscillation at the inter-annual scale. They noticed significant seasonal change in mid-1980, and long-term trend shifts were observed in 1985 and 2003 from their models. Other studies in China have also reported spatio-temporal evolution of climate affected green areas based on geographical model detectors (e.g., Wang et al., 2026). (Wang et al., 2026) Thiseir study revealed the multi-scale evolution patterns and climate-driven effects of runoff in the Linqi Reservoir, validatinges the advantages of deep hybrid models in improving predictive accuracy, thereby providing a scientific basis for water resource allocation, flood control, and sustainable management in the region.In the precedingabove three articles, the impacts of climate change, and land cover levels and runoff generation s were explored ion river ecosystems and a water supply reservoir. but thatHowever, these studies preclude the quest for the development of biomonitoring tools for monitoring the impacts of the extremes events (e.g., climate change, precipitation, e and land cover and urbanization). The development of biomonitoring tools in freshwater ecosystems based on using aquatic biota (e.g., macroinvertebrates) using both taxonomic and al functional trait assessment of aquatic biota (e.g., macroinvertebrates) al-based approaches have has been widely investigated worldwide (Keke et al., 2021;Edegbene et al., 2021), most especially in the global north (e.g., Feio and Dolédec, 2012). but such approaches are still at their foundational stage in the global south, most especially in Africa (e.g., Edegbene et al., 2021;Keke et al., 2021), where. In Africa, the development of trait-based models still relies heavily on trait databases from Europe (Feio and Dolédec 2012). Hence, Edegbene et al. in their review article on "Advancing trait-based biomonitoring approach for freshwater ecosystems assessment in Africa: current status, challenges, and future directions", they synthesizedhave synthesized the current state of trait-based approaches (TBAs) in African freshwater ecosystems, noting. They noted the growing development of TBA tools in Africa, but mentioned that the application of such tools are still growing in Africa, with Nigeria in West Africa being the most productive as measured by the several pioneering studies done by Prof. Augustine Ovie Edegbene. They also mentioned that South Africa in Southern Africa is leading in the development of TBA tools.and outlining kKey challenges to their implementation. These includeof TBA tools developed in Africa include; the scarcity of trait databases tailored to African taxa, inconsistent taxonomic resolution, limited institutional capacity, and gaps in ecological traits knowledge, and limited institutional capacity. They suggested that future avenues to advance standardized TBA tools are to developedwill require development of regional trait data banks, and coordination of monitoring schemes in line with global biodiversity objectives and goals for the sustainable management of freshwater ecosystems management in Africa.From the submissions published in this Research Topic, we are convinced that valuable contributions have been made which will help in addressing the impacts of the changing climate and other related factors on both urban streams and other ecosystems globally, most especially from Asia to Africa. The results presented here, will help decision makers both at the local and international levels, plan effectively on how the negative impacts of climate change can be mitigated in a bid to safeguard our fragile ecosystems globally. With this, we are very pleased to present our Special Issue Topic to you and we hope it will guide you in taking useful decisions that would help ameliorate the looming dangers resulting from climate change, land cover and other related extreme events we are facing in the Anthropocene[EE4]. From the submissions published in this Research Topic, we are convinced that these emerging methods and valuable insights will help in addressing the impacts of changing climatic factors and anthropogenic pressures on urban streams and rivers globally, but most especially from Asia to Africa. The results presented herein will help decision makers at both local and international levels to plan and mitigate negative impacts in a bid to safeguard fragile ecosystems globally. We hope this Research Topic will guide useful decisions and actions to ameliorate the looming dangers arising from climate change, extreme weather, land cover change and related threats facing the Anthropocene.

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