Hydrological science, society and the sustainable management of Scottish freshwaters resources in the 21st century.

Hydrology in Scotland has emerged as a diverse and maturing discipline in recent years following its origins in engineering and the environmental sciences. Despite significant progress in understanding the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the hydrological cycle in Scotland, hydrologists face a number of significant challenges. These include: improved basic process understanding and modelling of catchment functioning; increased understanding of climatic variability and change; the collection of more extensive and well-integrated data sets; improved understanding of the role of hydrology in maintaining good ecological status in managed rivers; and a rapidly evolving policy agenda both within Scotland and the EU. So far, the response of the scientific community to these challenges has been encouraging. However, it is concluded that in the future, hydrologists need to be increasingly engaged in interdisciplinary research projects and communicate better with environmental planners and various stakeholder groups if the discipline is going to make its full contribution to sustainable water resource management in Scotland.

Hydrology in Scotland: towards a scientific basis for the sustainable management of freshwater resources--foreword to thematic issue.

The physical background to hydrology in Scotland is briefly reviewed. The main scientific events associated with understanding the science of hydrology in Scotland are summarized and major contemporary research themes are outlined. A brief overview of each paper in the current volume is given.