Wetlands are often vital physical and social components of a country’s natural capital, as well as providers of ecosystem services to local and national communities. We performed a network analysis to prioritize Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for sustainable development in iconic wetlands and wetlandscapes around the world. The analysis was based on the information and perceptions on 45 wetlandscapes worldwide by 49 wetland researchers of the Global Wetland Ecohydrological Network (GWEN). We identified three 2030 Agenda targets of high priority across the wetlandscapes needed to achieve sustainable development: Target 6.3—“Improve water quality”; 2.4—“Sustainable food production”; and 12.2—“Sustainable management of resources”. Moreover, we found specific feedback mechanisms and synergies between SDG targets in the context of wetlands. The most consistent reinforcing interactions were the influence of Target 12.2 on 8.4—“Efficient resource consumption”; and that of Target 6.3 on 12.2. The wetlandscapes could be differentiated in four bundles of distinctive priority SDG-targets: “Basic human needs”, “Sustainable tourism”, “Environmental impact in urban wetlands”, and “Improving and conserving environment”. In general, we find that the SDG groups, targets, and interactions stress that maintaining good water quality and a “wise use” of wetlandscapes are vital to attaining sustainable development within these sensitive ecosystems.

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The efficiency of fertilizer conversion to harvestable products is often low in annual crops such that large amounts of nutrients are lost from fields with negative consequences for the environment. Focusing on nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE: the ratio of N in harvested products over the sum of all N inputs), we propose that hydrological controls can explain variations in NUE, because water mediates both the uptake of N by plants and N leaching. We assess these controls at the catchment scale, at which the water balance can be constrained by precipitation and runoff data and NUE can be quantified with census data. With this approach we test the hypotheses that a higher evaporative ratio (ET/P: the ratio of evapotranspiration over precipitation) increases N retention, thereby increasing NUE both across catchments at a given time and through time. With data from 73 catchments in the United States, encompassing a wide range of pedoclimatic conditions for the period 1988–2007, we apply a linear mixed effect model to test the effect of ET/P on NUE. Supporting our hypotheses, ET/P was positively related to NUE, and NUE increased through time. Moreover, we found an interaction between ET/P and time, such that the ET/P effect on NUE decreased in the period 1998–2007. We conclude that climatic changes that increase ET/P without negatively affecting yields, will increase N retention in the examined catchments.

Reliable estimations of the evolution of water quality parameters by using in situ technologies make it possible to follow the operation of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), as well as improving the understanding and control of the operation, especially in the detection of disturbances. However, ultraviolet (UV)-Vis sensors have to be calibrated by means of a local fingerprint laboratory reference concentration-value data-set. The detection of outliers in these data-sets is therefore important. This paper presents a method for detecting outliers in UV-Vis absorbances coupled to water quality reference laboratory concentrations for samples used for calibration purposes. Application to samples from the influent of the San Fernando WWTP (Medellín, Colombia) is shown. After the removal of outliers, improvements in the predictability of the influent concentrations using absorbance spectra were found.

Ongoing and future hydroclimatic changes have large environmental and societal impacts. In terrestrial ecosystems, these changes are usually described with the terms ‘wetter’ and ‘drier’, which refer to the change in the quantity and/or presence of water, either as water fluxes or stocks. We conducted a literature review of almost 500 recent climate change studies to quantitatively investigate the consistency of the use of these terms across disciplines, regarding the hydroclimatic variables they are related to. We found that although precipitation is prevalently used to describe ‘wetter’ and ‘drier’ conditions, many other variables are also used to refer to changes in water availability between research fields, pointing to a varied perspective on the use of these terms. Some studies do not define the terms at all. In order to facilitate meta-analyses across disciplines, we therefore highlight the need to explicitly state which hydroclimatic variables authors are referring to. In this way, we hope that the terms ‘wetter’ and ‘drier’ used in scientific studies are easier to relate to hydroclimatic processes, which should facilitate the application by authorities and policy makers.