The integrity and functioning of wetland ecosystems are sustained by dynamic, finely tuned interaction networks among their biological constituents. Plants, microorganisms, and waterbirds form the core of the wetland “living community,” serving respectively as primary producers, drivers of biogeochemical cycles, and higher-level consumers. This interconnected network responds to environmental variation through inherent synergistic and feedback processes that govern a wetland’s resilience to cumulative stressors and shape its long-term ecological trajectory.

While existing research often examines individual stressors or isolated taxa, a significant gap remains in understanding how the plant–microbe–waterbird network adaptively restructures under changing conditions and drives system-wide outcomes. Unraveling these cross-scale linkages—from fine-scale interactions to ecosystem-level functions—is essential for shifting the focus from superficial recovery to the restoration of intrinsic ecological function and adaptive resilience.

This Research Topic aims to advance and integrate research paradigms in wetland ecology by focusing on the synergistic adaptation and system-level feedback mechanisms of the wetland “living community”—centered on plants, microorganisms, and waterbirds—in response to multiple and combined stressors such as climate change, pollution, and land-use change. We encourage studies that move beyond analyses of single stressors or isolated biological groups and instead explore how stressors modulate interactions among different biotic components (e.g., symbiosis, competition, predation). Furthermore, we seek to elucidate how these modulated interactions, through cascading effects, shape the functional stability, resilience, and long-term trajectory of wetland ecosystems. This integrated perspective is crucial for developing a mechanistic understanding of wetland responses to environmental change and for informing effective conservation and restoration strategies rooted in ecological complexity.

Suggested themes include:

o Wetland biotic responses to climate change

o Biological impacts of land-use transitions

o Effects of exogenous pollutants on wetland biota

o Multi-trophic responses to environmental change

o Coupling effects in wetland food webs

o Synergistic adaptation at ecological interfaces

o Feedback between biotic and abiotic factors

o Novel methods for monitoring biotic networks

o Management strategies for wetland resilience

o Conservation genetics of endangered species

Confirm your expert contribution

Synergistic Adaptation of Wetland Communities under Multiple Stressors