Role of climate change in recovery of acidified surface waters

Abstract. Surface waters in Europe and North America have begun to recover in response to decreases in emissions of acidifying pollutants to the atmosphere. Variations in climate influence chemical and biological recovery. Part of the EU project Eurolimpacs (Integrated project to evaluate the impacts of global change on European freshwater ecosystems) focuses on the interactive effects of acid deposition and climate on freshwater ecosystems. This special issue of Hydrology and Earth System Sciences is devoted to this topic, and consists of studies conducted in 8 countries on aspects regarding episodes, nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, recovery and biological effects.