Assessment of coastal protection as an ecosystem service in Europe

Mapping and assessment of ecosystem services is essential to provide scientific support to global and EU biodiversity policy. Coastal protection has been mostly analysed in the frame of coastal vulnerability studies or in local, habitat-specific assessments. This paper provides a conceptual and methodological approach to assess coastal protection as an ecosystem service at different spatial–temporal scales, and applies it to the entire EU coastal zone. The assessment of coastal protection incorporates 14 biophysical and socio-economic variables from both terrestrial and marine datasets. Those variables define three indicators: coastal protection capacity, coastal exposure and human demand for protection. A questionnaire filled by coastal researchers helped assign ranks to categorical parameters and weights to the individual variables. The three indicators are then framed into the ecosystem services cascade model to estimate how coastal ecosystems provide protection, in particular describing the service function, flow and benefit. The results are comparative and aim to support integrated land and marine spatial planning. The main drivers of change for the provision of coastal protection come from the widespread anthropogenic pressures in the European coastal zone, for which a short quantitative analysis is provided.     

Sources,impacts and trends of pharmaceuticals in the marine and coastal environment

There has been a significant investment in research to define exposures and potential hazards of pharmaceuticals in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. A substantial number of integrated environmental risk assessments have been developed in Europe, North America and many other regions for these situations. In contrast, comparatively few empirical studies have been conducted for human and veterinary pharmaceuticals that are likely to enter coastal and marine ecosystems. This is a critical knowledge gap given the significant increase in coastal human populations around the globe and the growth of coastal megacities, together with the increasing importance of coastal aquaculture around the world. There is increasing evidence that pharmaceuticals are present and are impacting on marine and coastal environments. This paper reviews the sources, impacts and concentrations of pharmaceuticals in marine and coastal environments to identify knowledge gaps and suggests focused case studies as a priority for future research.     

Rapid and large changes in coastal wetland structure in China's four major river deltas

Coastal wetlands provide essential ecosystem goods and services but are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme climate, and human activities, especially the coastal wetlands in large river deltas, which are regarded as “natural recorders” of changes in estuarine environments. In addition to the area (loss or gain) and quality (degradation or improvement) of coastal wetlands, the information on coastal wetland structure (e.g., patch size and number) are also major metrics for coastal restoration and biodiversity protection, but remain very limited in China's four major river deltas. In this study, we quantified the spatial–temporal dynamics of total area (TA) and patch number (PN) of coastal wetlands with different sizes in the four deltas and the protected areas (PAs) and assessed the effects of major driving factors during 1984–2020. We also investigated the effectiveness of PAs through the comparison of TA and PN of coastal wetlands before and after the years in which PAs were listed as Ramsar Sites. We found both TA and PN experienced substantial losses in the Liaohe River Delta and Yellow River Delta but recent recoveries in the Yangtze River Delta. The coastal wetlands had a relatively stable and variable trend in TA but had a continually increasing trend in PN in the Pearl River Delta. Furthermore, reduced coastal reclamation, ecological restoration projects, and rapid expansion of invasive plants had great impacts on the coastal wetland structure in various ways. We also found that PAs were effective in halting the decreasing trends in coastal wetland areas and slowing the expansion of reclamation, but the success of PAs is being counteracted by soaring exotic plant invasions. Our findings provide vital information for the government and the public to address increasing challenges of coastal restoration, management, and sustainability in large river deltas.     

福建省海岸植物资源调查及园林应用综合评价

在查阅文献资料和标本的基础上,对位于福建省漳州市、厦门市、泉州市、福州市及宁德市的7个海岸样带的海岸植物组成、生活型及生态适应性进行了调查和分析;采用层次分析法构建了海岸植物园林应用综合评价体系,并据此筛选出适于福建海岸园林建设的原生植物种类。结果表明:7个海岸样带共包含74科229属323种海岸植物,其中原生种有278种、外来种有45种;含种数较多的科包括禾本科(Gramineae)、菊科(Compositae)、莎草科(Cyperaceae)、豆科(Leguminosae)和大戟科(Euphorbiaceae),共包含92属151种,分别占总属数和总种数的40.17%和46.75%。福建省海岸植物生活型大体分为乔木、灌木、草本、藤本及其他5类,其中草本占优势;草本、灌木、藤本和乔木的种数分别为204、64、31和14种,草本和灌木的种数分别占总种数的63.16%和19.81%。按照生态类群可将福建海岸植物分为陆岸沙生生态类群、盐生湿地生态类群、基岩海岸及海岸林生态类群、广生境生态类群4类。福建省海岸植物园林应用综合评价体系共包含5个一级因子和19个二级因子。一级因子中权重值排在前2位的因子为生理适应性和美学特性,权重值分别为0.276 2和0.218 9;二级因子中盐碱适应能力的权重值最高(0.082 7),栽培成本、养护成本、资源数量和植株形态观赏性的权重值也较高(均在0.070 0以上)。采用这一评价体系从福建海岸原生植物中共筛选出适于海岸园林建设的植物40种,这些植物的得分均在3.00以上且观赏性强、生态功能较佳。此外,还针对滨海滩涂地带、沙滩开阔地带和基岩质海岸带提出了几种人工植物群落景观营造的植物配置模式。     

滨海湿地生态系统服务及其价值评估研究进展

滨海湿地是介于海陆之间的过渡地带,具有丰富的生物多样性和很高的生产力,能为人类提供诸多生态系统服务,但它又是对人类活动极为敏感的生态脆弱区。沿海经济的发展使湿地资源的有限性与人类需求的无限性之间的矛盾日益突出,导致湿地多样性丧失、服务功能退化等。在阐述滨海湿地特征及其服务产生机理的基础上,介绍了运用经济学方法对生态系统服务进行评价的进展,分析了各方法的优缺点及应用情况,最后对滨海湿地生态系统服务价值评估中存在的问题进行了总结归纳,评估所面临的困难一方面来自生态系统本身的复杂性;另一方面来自经济学方法的局限性。因此今后的研究应从生态系统服务的形成机制入手,注重生态学及经济学理论的结合,改善评估方法,提高评估结果的有效性和可信度,为湿地资源管理及生态补偿机制制定提供有力支持。     

全球变化下海岸带微生物生态研究进展

海岸带地区是元素循环最活跃的自然区域之一,微生物作为地球元素循环的主要驱动者,对该区域生态系统中物质转化与能量流动起着至关重要的作用。本文从典型海岸带生态系统：海岸带湿地、海草床与海藻森林、近岸水体出发,围绕微生物参与的碳、氮循环过程以及其中的温室气体排放情况,综述了在全球气候变化与人为活动干扰的作用下,海岸带地区的微生物群落对外界环境变化的响应机制以及生态功能维持机制,最后对海岸带系统中微生物生态研究进行了初步的展望。     

中国主要入海河流河口集水区划分与分类

采用GIS技术开展中国主要入海河流的流域边界及其汇水单元、河口集水区的划分及其分类。基于ArcGIS水文分析模块划分出15条入海河流的汇水单元,并通过5种不同汇水单元面积等级的划分来表达各入海河流汇水单元的详细程度;划分的流域面积与相关文献资料对比偏差在10%以内;在流域与汇水单元划分的基础上,基于感潮河段的数据收集,确定出88个中国主要入海河流的河口集水区。通过建立分类指标体系,采用聚类分析方法,划分出5类河口:第一类EDA主要分布在环渤海地区、山东半岛和广东沿海;第二类EDA主要分布在长江口和杭州湾周围;第三类EDA主要分布在江苏北部沿海和辽东半岛;第四类包括山东江苏交界处沿海、江苏南部沿海;第五类主要分布在福建浙江沿海、珠江口、长江口、海河口附近、辽河河口附近,并利用快速生物评价法验证河口分类的合理性。研究成果可为进一步开展我国近海河口和海域营养盐基准制订与生态分区提供基础空间数据与方法借鉴。     

粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统修复框架

粤港澳大湾区是全球四大湾区之一,也是我国重要的战略发展区,具有极强的开放性、经济性、生态性、社会性、海洋性和系统性特征,具有重要的理论和实践研究价值。海岸带生态系统是粤港澳大湾区重要的生态系统类型之一。受快速城市化的影响,粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统存在诸多问题,这些问题已成为影响陆海生态安全的重要因素。海岸带生态系统修复是国土空间生态修复的重要组成部分之一。为加快促进粤港澳大湾区海岸带修复,在分析粤港澳大湾区海岸带主要类型与特征基础上,通过剖析其现状海岸带生态修复存在的主要问题,依托山水林田湖草海生命共同体和陆海统筹等系统理念,提出粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统修复框架设计思路。基于粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统受植被、湿地、水文地质、人类活动、经济发展水平、产业发展特征、香港和澳门特别行政区等影响因素,构建了粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统分区、分类、分级修复框架,形成了由珠三角核心区、粤港澳大湾区、珠三角滨海城市群、珠江流域构成的粤港澳大湾区"一核一区一群一流域"海岸带生态系统修复新格局。在此基础上提出了粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统修复"十条"。以流域作为生态修复治理的基本单元,将影响海岸带生态系统平衡的多种因素进行分类整理,从生态系统整体性和流域系统性出发,坚持水陆联动、陆海统筹,实施以水为核心的山水林田湖草海一体化修复,从而实现粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统修复新目标。通过优化湾区海岸带生态环境,维护湾区海岸带生态平衡,提高湾区海岸带生态安全格局,进而促进粤港澳大湾区的可持续发展和生态文明建设。     

滨海湿地生态系统土壤微生物及其影响因素研究综述

土壤微生物是滨海湿地生态系统中不可或缺的关键组分,在土壤发育、物质循环和污染物净化等诸多土壤生态过程中发挥着重要作用,对滨海湿地生态系统的维持与健康具有重大影响。系统梳理了滨海湿地土壤微生物群落结构特征和多样性,综述了土壤理化性质、植被状况、水文因素、生物入侵、全球变化、湿地开垦、石油污染等因素对滨海湿地土壤微生物的影响。在此基础上,对今后的研究重点提出了4个方面的展望:(1)加强全球变化多因子交互作用下滨海湿地土壤微生物的响应机制;(2)强化滨海湿地土壤微生物与环境因子的互作机理;(3)深化滨海湿地水动力条件对土壤微生物的影响机制;(4)开展土壤微生物与滨海湿地生态系统物质循环综合研究。研究以期为滨海湿地生态系统的保护和修复提供参考。     

The Seafloor High Issue in Article 76 of the LOS Convention: Some Views from the Perspective of Legal Interpretation

The three categories of the seafloor highs provided for in Article 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea should be interpreted from the legal perspective and in light of the principle of the natural prolongation. “Oceanic ridges of the deep ocean floor,” which are not part of the natural prolongation of the land territory of the coastal state, are the submarine features that have no geomorphological continuity with the landmass of the coastal state. “Submarine elevations,” which are not only part of the natural prolongation of the land territory of the coastal state but also the natural component of the continental margin, are those submarine features that have geomorphological as well as geological continuity with the landmass of the coastal state. “Submarine ridges,” which are part of the natural prolongation of the land territory of the coastal state but not the natural component of the continental margin, are those submarine features that have geomorphological continuity with the landmass of the coastal state. There are some clear trends as well as obvious variances in the practice of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in this regard.     

海岸生态学——探究海岸生物与环境相互作用的生态学分支

海岸是现代海洋与大陆相互作用的两栖地带,是一个复杂的生态系统,近年来,随着人们对海岸功能和地位的深入认识,海岸生态学问题成为了当今的研究热点之一。论文在简要分析海岸生态学问题的基础上,提出了海岸生态学学科的概念,阐述了海岸生态学的研究对象、内容和方法,并重点对LOICZ研究项目、海岸生物圈系统、环境系统及海岸的开发应用等研究成果进行了综述。海岸生态学以海岸生态系统为研究对象,是研究其生态过程和演化机制以及海岸生物与环境之间相互关系的分支学科。海岸生态学作为一门新兴的学科,有较强的发展潜力和应用前景。     

中国海岸带围垦遥感分析

海岸带围垦是沿海区域缓解人口增长与城镇扩张所带来土地压力的重要途径和方式。建国以来,中国大陆沿海围垦大量滨海湿地以满足社会经济发展所导致的土地需求,对滨海湿地的资源、生态和环境造成影响和胁迫。为掌握近35年来中国大陆沿海地区的围填海状况,以5a为间隔,选取1985—2010年间Landsat系列卫星影像数据,基于遥感与GIS技术,解译6个年份的围垦岸线,计算分析围垦面积,研究并提出围垦强度系数。结果表明,1985—2010年,中国大陆沿海共围垦土地755183 hm~2,年均围垦30207 hm~2,围垦强度达到1.7 hm~2a~(-1)km~(-1),围垦总量趋势表现先减少后增加。环渤海经济圈与长三角经济圈围垦强度最大,其围垦总量占到全国总体的85.7%。围垦的时空分布及其利用形式受沿海区域自然地理条件和地区经济发展水平的制约和影响。     

中国滨海盐沼湿地碳收支与碳循环过程研究进展

滨海盐沼湿地由于其较高的初级生产力和较缓慢的有机质降解速率而成为缓解全球变暖的有效蓝色碳汇,近年来引起全球范围内的热切关注.我国滨海盐沼湿地分布较广,国内学者对滨海盐沼湿地碳循环及碳收支研究取得了一定进展,深入研究滨海盐沼湿地碳循环有助于对全球碳循环及全球变化的理解,并为利用滨海湿地进行碳的增汇减排提供科学依据.主要从我国滨海盐沼湿地碳循环主要观测方法、碳收支与碳循环过程及特点、碳库的组成与影响因素、气态碳的输入输出、潮汐作用对其碳收支的影响这5个方面出发,对国内的滨海盐沼湿地碳循环与碳收支的研究进展进行了归纳总结,并对今后的研究方向给出如下建议:(1)加强滨海盐沼湿地土壤碳库在深度上和广度上的研究;(2)标准化滨海盐沼湿地碳储量、碳通量的量化方法和观测技术;(3)在研究尺度上要宏观、微观并重,同时加强长期原位监测湿地碳通量的变化与室内模拟研究;(4)量化在潮汐影响下滨海盐沼湿地碳与邻近生态系统之间的横向交换通量.只有对我国滨海盐沼湿地碳库收支进行更准确的评估和长期的碳库动态变化监测,方可进一步认识我国盐沼湿地对全球气候变化的影响及其反馈作用,这对于预测全球变化及制定湿地碳储备功能的提升策略具有重要的意义.     

Fishery management in Japan

There are few legal marine protected areas in Japan rather than fishing-ban areas. Fishers did not seek legal fishing-ban areas but they did establish fishing-ban areas by autonomous bases. We briefly introduce the institutional history and features of Japanese coastal fishery management, including the past decade’s major legislative developments. Japan still has a decentralized co-management system involving fishers and the government, and ca. 98% of Japanese fishers are artisanal. There are several successful cases of coastal fisheries management in Japan. However, offshore industrial fisheries have problems in Japan. We compare coastal fisheries co-management between Japan and Chile. We finally discuss the possibility of improvement for Japanese fisheries.     

Warming and hypoxia threaten a valuable scallop fishery: A warning for commercial bivalve ventures in climate change hotspots

Marine molluscs constitute the second largest marine fishery and are often caught in coastal and estuarine habitats. Temperature is increasing in these habitats at a rate greater than predicted, especially in warming “hotspots”. This warming is accompanied by hypoxia in a duo of stressors that threatens coastal mollusc fisheries and aquaculture. Collapses of the northern bay scallop (Argopecten irradians irradians) fisheries on the Atlantic coast of the USA are likely to be driven by rapid rates of coastal warming and may provide an ominous glimpse into the prospects of other coastal mollusc fisheries in climate warming hotspots.     

Normal and Extreme Wind Conditions for Power at Coastal Locations in China

In this paper, the normal and extreme wind conditions for power at 12 coastal locations along China’s coastline were investigated. For this purpose, the daily meteorological data measured at the standard 10-m height above ground for periods of 40–62 years are statistically analyzed. The East Asian Monsoon that affects almost China’s entire coastal region is considered as the leading factor determining wind energy resources. For most stations, the mean wind speed is higher in winter and lower in summer. Meanwhile, the wind direction analysis indicates that the prevalent winds in summer are southerly, while those in winter are northerly. The air densities at different coastal locations differ significantly, resulting in the difference in wind power density. The Weibull and lognormal distributions are applied to fit the yearly wind speeds. The lognormal distribution performs better than the Weibull distribution at 8 coastal stations according to two judgement criteria, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and absolute error (AE). Regarding the annual maximum extreme wind speed, the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution performs better than the commonly-used Gumbel distribution. At these southeastern coastal locations, strong winds usually occur in typhoon season. These 4 coastal provinces, that is, Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, and Zhejiang, which have abundant wind resources, are also prone to typhoon disasters.     

Dragonfly communities in coastal habitats of Kenya: indication of biotope quality and the need of conservation measures

This study highlights the species diversity of Odonata from coastal forests in southern Kenya, identifying indicator species for certain habitat types and emphasising the importance of conserving the last remaining coastal forest areas. A total of 78 species were recorded from coastal habitats in southern Kenya in this study; five species for the first time in eastern Africa. Dragonfly communities relative to different habitat types from indigenous forest to cultivated landscapes are described and compared. The forest species are often confined to coastal forests of East Africa. They are stenotopic and highly sensitive to disturbance. With increasing habitat disturbance the species richness increases at first, but most of the colonisers are eurytopic species that are common and widely distributed in Africa. The species assemblages between different habitat types in the disturbed landscape are more or less the same; the -diversity is much lower than in different habitat types of the natural coastal landscape. In the end, management implications are briefly discussed.     

胶州湾滨海湿地生态系统服务价值变化

为科学的评估青岛胶州湾滨海湿地生态系统服务功能的变化特点并明确其驱动因素,通过构建生态系统服务评价体系,综合运用生态学和经济学方法,对2005年、2010年和2015年胶州湾滨海湿地生态系统的供给、调节和文化3大类共12项生态服务的价值进行了评估。结果表明,气候调节和水产品生产是胶州湾滨海湿地生态系统的两大核心功能,二者占到服务总价值的90%以上;调节服务是其主要的服务类型,占到总服务价值的60%以上;2005年、2010年和2015年胶州湾滨海湿地生态系统服务总价值呈递减趋势,分别为1419.73×10~7元、1343.91×10~7元和1239.23×10~7元。湿地面积减少、湿地功能退化是造成胶州湾滨海湿地生态系统服务价值总体呈下降趋势的直接原因,不合理围垦、过度开发生物资源、水污染严重是造成湿地面积减少、功能退化的人为因素,气候条件的不利变化是造成湿地环境进一步恶化的自然因素。建议以生态系统服务价值为指导,将评估结果纳入到决策体系中,加强对青岛胶州湾滨海湿地现有资源的保护和生态恢复。     

Bryophytes in Mediterranean coastal dunes: ecological strategies and distribution along the vegetation zonation

The bryophytic flora has been widely studied in Atlantic coastal dune environments while bryological literature addressing the Mediterranean bryophytes is still scarce and fragmented, although they are an important component of this area, especially considering their ability to colonize and stabilize sandy soils. The aims of this study were: (i) to analyze the taxonomy, chorology and ecology of coastal dunes bryoflora; (ii) to analyze distribution patterns of bryophytic species along a coastal dune vegetation zonation. We used as coastal dune model system a particularly well-preserved study area of the Sardinian coast (Italy), which includes several habitats listed in European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC. We conducted a general survey of the area and a random sampling. A total of 20 bryophytic species were detected most of which were acrocarpous mosses and, to a lesser extent, pleurocarpous and liverworts. Most bryophytes are pioneer colonizers, reflecting their adaptation to environments with high levels of stress/disturbance conditions such as those of coastal dunes. Finally, in this study we described for the first time how bryophytic species are distributed along a Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation zonation, focusing also on their chorological and ecological characteristics and on how they seem to follow the sea-land gradient, probably in response to different environmental conditions developing along this gradient.     

The role of seabirds and seals in the survival of coastal plants: lessons from New Zealand Lepidium (Brassicaceae)

Six of the eight indigenous New Zealand Lepidium species are coastal, and have restricted or reduced distributions. One is extinct and the remainder are considered threatened with extinction. This limited distribution is in marked contrast to their apparent abundance in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (1760s–1830s). Accounts from the voyages of Cook, Surville and d'Urville describe L. oleraceum as an abundant coastal plant which was collected extensively for use as an antiscorbutic. However, by the late 19th century, resident botanists were expressing concern about the marked decline in coastal species of Lepidium, a decline which has continued to the present. Ecologically, coastal species of Lepidium are similar, being restricted to open sites often close to the high tide mark. They are commonly associated with bird colonies, and occasionally with fur seal colonies. Traditionally their decline has been attributed to introduced herbivores. However, wild grazing animals were not common until the end of the 19th century, well after the initial decline had occurred. Other possible reasons for their decline include herbivory and predation by rats, and by fungal and invertebrate pests of cultivated Brassicaceae, overcollecting and coastal development. However, we suggest that a major factor in the decline of coastal Lepidium species was a decline in coastal seabirds through predation and seals through culling. Seabirds and seals are critical for the survival of Lepidium species by keeping sites open through disturbance, dispersing seed, and providing nutrient enrichment for plant growth, and their loss has resulted in decline of habitat for Lepidium.