Coastal connectivity and spatial subsidy from a microbial perspective

The transfer of organic material from one coastal environment to another can increase production in recipient habitats in a process known as spatial subsidy. Microorganisms drive the generation, transformation, and uptake of organic material in shallow coastal environments, but their significance in connecting coastal habitats through spatial subsidies has received limited attention. We address this by presenting a conceptual model of coastal connectivity that focuses on the flow of microbially mediated organic material in key coastal habitats. Our model suggests that it is not the difference in generation rates of organic material between coastal habitats but the amount of organic material assimilated into microbial biomass and respiration that determines the amount of material that can be exported from one coastal environment to another. Further, the flow of organic material across coastal habitats is sensitive to environmental change as this can alter microbial remineralization and respiration rates. Our model highlights microorganisms as an integral part of coastal connectivity and emphasizes the importance of including a microbial perspective in coastal connectivity studies.     

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.     

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。     

海滨乔木矮化现象及其环境因子驱动力

在海滨森林生态系统中,乔木表现出以株高降低为主的特殊海滨矮化现象。阐明海滨植被在海滨生境胁迫下的矮化响应机制是实现海滨植被保护和恢复的关键环节。从海滨森林生态系统中乔木矮化的形态和作用机制的角度出发,综述了这一矮化现象与海滨各生态胁迫因子之间的关联及作用机制的研究进展。海滨乔木受到了长期海滨大风和极端风暴的机械压力,在形态上表现出茎粗、低矮的特征;海滨贫瘠的土壤、特殊的盐胁迫和复合型的水分胁迫在导致乔木高度降低的同时降低了基径和胸径生长,表现出瘦小的性状,这与非地带性山地矮林中乔木矮化现象是不同的;乔木的矮化也同样受到了海滨频发的火灾、极端光暴露或林内高郁闭度的光胁迫等环境因子的影响。这种乔木个体的矮化最终表现为海滨植被群落中乔木层的矮化。不可否认的是,海滨乔木矮化现象是由多种因素交互作用下形成的,但迄今为止,学界对海滨矮化现象的主导环境驱动力的探讨尚处于初步阶段。在指出现有研究的不足之处的同时,提出在未来的研究中,应更多的关注全球变化下海滨森林矮化的多因素驱动模型,并基于现行的植被分类系统,提出了划分海滨矮化森林为新植被型的构想,为海滨植物和植被的保护、恢复和分类提供了参考。     

基于AHP-DEA的滨海湿地保护利用管理效率评价

提高滨海湿地保护利用管理水平对于保护滨海湿地,维持海岸带生态系统平衡具有非常重要的意义。选择沿海辽宁、河北、天津等10省市作为研究区域,在综合考虑经济、社会和生态三方面影响因素的基础上,构建评价滨海湿地保护利用管理效率指标体系,运用层次分析法(AHP,Analytic Hierarchy Process)对指标体系进行优化处理,代入到非导向超效率SBM(Slack-Based Measurement)模型中计算得到2006—2015年各省市滨海湿地保护利用管理效率值。结果表明:2006—2015年沿海10省市滨海湿地保护利用管理效率评价值总体上呈现"两头高,中间低"的变化情况;在100个决策单元中,达到有效的决策单元占71%,无效决策单元占29%;滨海湿地保护面积不足和资金投入冗余是无效决策单元效率值低下的主要原因。在效率结果分析的基础上提出滨海湿地保护利用的管理建议。     

Predicted response of coastal wetlands to climate changes: a Western Australian model

A review of the Western Australian coast systems shows a range of models of how coastal wetlands could respond to climate change because it spans climates from tropical humid, tropical arid, to near-temperate humid, faces various oceans that drive coastal processes and maintain coastal landforms and habitats, and adjoins a range of hinterland types that develop variable coastal habitats, runoff and rainfall. It thus provides a plethora of settings that latitudinally will respond differentially to any changes in air temperatures, evaporation, rainfall patterns, freshwater influx, wind regimes and storm activity, and derivative responses such as changes in sediment supply, maintenance of coastal forms, coastal groundwater and biota. A review and examples of coastal wetland response to climate changes are provided from Walpole–Nornalup Inlet Estuary, Leschenault Inlet Estuary, the Point Becher area and King Sound.     

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.     

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。     

Factors and Criteria to Quantify Coastal Area Sensitivity/Vulnerability to Eutrophication: Presentation of a Sensitivity Index Based on Morphometrical Parameters

There are major differences in sensitivity or vulnerability to anthropogenic loading of nutrients (eutrophication) among different coastal areas. The aim of this work is to discuss criteria for coastal area sensitivity and to present a sensitivity index (SI). This index is based on two morphometric parameters, which can be determined from simple bathymetric maps. (1) The topographical openness (or exposure) and (2) the dynamic ratio of the coastal area. The exposure is defined by the ratio between the section area of the coast and the enclosed coastal area. The boundaries of the coastal area should not be defined in an arbitrary manner but according to the topographical bottleneck method so that the exposure attains a minimum value. The exposure regulates the theoretical water retention time, which, in turn, regulates the effects of a given nutrient loading. The dynamic ratio is defined by the ratio between the square root of the coastal area and the mean depth. The dynamic ratio influences many fundamental internal transport processes. Coastal management should focus remedial actions on critical coastal areas which are at hand if the nutrient loading is high and/or the sensitivity is high. Testing the sensitivity index using a comprehensive data set including 478 coastal areas from the Baltic Sea. There were 2 (0.4%) extremely sensitive coastal areas (SI > 50), 50 (10.5%) very sensitive coastal areas (10 < SI < 50), 121 (25.3%) sensitive coastal areas (5 < SI < 10), 301 (63.0%) low sensitive coastal areas (1 < SI < 5) and 4 (0.8%) not sensitive coastal areas (SI < 1). (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

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。     

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...     

Ensuring the adaptive potential of Coastal wetlands of India- the need of the hour for sustainable management

India is endowed with a variety of coastal wetlands viz., mangroves, seagrasses, saltmarshes, coral reefs, lagoons and tidal flats, and the country is also a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention of Biological Diversity, besides having a robust framework of laws and policies, governing the wetland conservation. However, the conservation strategies can better be improved in the context of increasing pressures and threats and limited success of restoration/rehabilitation. Land conversion and ecological degradation of coastal wetlands are the stressors, associated with rapid coastal developmental activities and climate change. The coastal wetlands require desired habitat niche and hence, the conversion of coastal wetlands to other land uses (including agricultural and urban lands) may lead to permanent loss, whereas ecologically degraded coastal wetlands may be resilient if supported by effective protection measures. Preventing the habitat conversion and maximizing the adaptive potential (viz., the ability of populations or species to adapt to rapid environmental change with minimal disruption) by preserving the ecological health are the need of the hour to safeguard the existing coastal wetlands and sustain the provisional ecosystem services offered by them rather than short-term increase in area by unproductive restoration/rehabilitation efforts. Since coastal wetlands are flow through ecosystems, preserving the hydrological connectivity, facilitating the connectivity between adjacent ecosystems and protection of natural corridors are potential strategies that are required to enhance the adaptive potential of coastal wetlands. This analysis calls for site-specific, long-term and integrated ecosystem-based protection, management and rehabilitation strategies based on scientific principles and enforcing the effective legislative measures to regularize the coastal developmental activities in India.

     

Designing an integrated coastal orientation index: A cross-comparison of Mexican municipalities

To better understand the relation between coastal areas and their influence on social and economic conditions of municipalities, a set of indexes were developed to characterize coastal Mexico with an interdisciplinary approach. The composite of these bio-physical, social and economic indexes is referred to as an “integrated coastal orientation index”. Coastal characteristics should be taken into account in the coastal management policy formulation of a given region, and this index can be used to identify key areas for environmental protection or economic development at a national level. The results suggest that municipalities must manage their coastal jurisdictions, a large and diverse array of coastal space and ecosystems, medium to weak spatial demographics and settlement structures, infrastructure to improve quality of life, an overall low coastal population income, and various coastal activities. Spatial heterogeneity along the littoral zone in the coastal orientation led us to conduct a state analysis. We discuss these values and identify five highly coastal-orientated states in the extremes of the country. The development of this tool could help to pin-point different types of key areas within the regions studied and provide a tool to guide regional priorities. As an example, using a combination of extreme values of bio-physical, social and economic indexes was used to identify specific municipalities as candidates for environmental protection and others as areas where development can continue. Choices of indexes are discussed, and the relative importance given to each component of the coastal orientation (rather bio-physical, social and/or economic) will define the course of the coast's development and its sustainability.     

滨海盐沼湿地有机碳的沉积与埋藏研究进展

滨海盐沼湿地有着较高的碳沉积速率和固碳能力,在缓解全球变暖方面发挥着重要作用,而盐渍土壤是滨海盐沼湿地碳收支研究中最大的有机碳库,研究其碳沉积与埋藏对于理解滨海湿地碳收支有着重要的意义.本文从滨海盐沼湿地土壤有机碳的来源、土壤有机碳库与沉积速率、盐沼湿地有机碳的埋藏机制、全球变化与滨海盐沼湿地碳封存等几方面对滨海盐沼湿地有机碳沉积与埋藏的相关研究进行综述.今后研究应侧重:1)加强对控制滨海盐沼湿地碳储存变异的基本因素的进一步研究;2)对测量滨海盐沼湿地沉积物碳储量和沉积碳埋藏速率的方法进行标准化;3)对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进行量化;4)探明全球变暖的影响和生产力的提高是否可以抵消因呼吸增强而造成的有机碳降解速率的升高.确定固碳速率变化驱动因子,理解气候变化和人类活动对碳埋藏的影响机制,有助于提升我国滨海盐沼湿地的固碳能力.     

基于土地利用变化和生态系统服务的海岸带生态安全综合评价——以胶州湾为例

以土地利用为主的陆域开发活动能改变近海环境质量,并影响和改变原有海岸带生态系统服务功能的供给模式,对海岸带生态安全产生一定的负面影响.目前在海岸带生态系统研究领域较多采用陆地生态系统研究模式,未能真正体现海岸带作为海陆结合的独立的环境体系的特点,并缺乏对陆域活动驱动与生态系统服务功能响应和生态安全实现之间复杂关系的科学解释.本研究基于海岸带生态系统服务的空间异质性和流动性特点,以“土地利用变化(LUCC)-生态系统服务(ES)-生态系统安全”为研究主线,构建海岸带生态安全评价模型,探讨以土地覆被变化为主的陆域活动对海岸带生态系统服务功能和区域生态安全的影响机理及其时空变异规律.从模型的评价结果上看,作为生态安全系统中主要压力表征的胶州湾陆域土地利用变化,与相应海域内的生态系统服务状况和生态安全状态呈现出一定的相关性和趋势性.随着环胶州湾地区城市化进程中大量用地流转为城乡建设用地,胶州湾中相应海域的生态系统服务状态下降,进而带来该海域生态安全状态恶化.本文所提出的基于压力-状态-响应(PSR)框架的海陆结合的生态安全评价模型,以探讨陆域活动对海岸带生态系统服务功能和区域生态安全的影响及其时空变异规律为目的,可以克服目前研究中只关注陆域部分而忽视陆域活动与海域部分之间的联系和相互影响的缺陷,对海岸带生态安全评价研究具有一定的改进作用.     

Future Coastal Population Growth and Exposure to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding - A Global Assessment

Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential. Furthermore, we identify needs for further research and scope for improvement in this kind of scenario-based exposure analysis.     

Marine biodiversity: patterns, threats and conservation needs

Marine biodiversity is higher in benthic rather than pelagic systems, and in coasts rather than the open ocean since there is a greater range of habitats near the coast. The highest species diversity occurs in the Indonesian archipelago and decreases radially from there. The terrestrial pattern of increasing diversity from poles to tropics occurs from the Arctic to the tropics but does not seem to occur in the southern hemisphere where diversity is high at high latitides. Losses of marine diversity are highest in coastal areas largely as a result of conflicting uses of coastal habitats. The best way to conserve marine diversity is to conserve habitat and landscape diversity in the coastal area. Marine protected areas are only a part of the conservation strategy needed. It is suggested that a framework for coastal conservation is integrated coastal area management where one of the primary goals is sustainable use of coastal biodiversity.     

Climate Adaptation and Policy-Induced Inflation of Coastal Property Value

Human population density in the coastal zone and potential impacts of climate change underscore a growing conflict between coastal development and an encroaching shoreline. Rising sea-levels and increased storminess threaten to accelerate coastal erosion, while growing demand for coastal real estate encourages more spending to hold back the sea in spite of the shrinking federal budget for beach nourishment. As climatic drivers and federal policies for beach nourishment change, the evolution of coastline mitigation and property values is uncertain. We develop an empirically grounded, stochastic dynamic model coupling coastal property markets and shoreline evolution, including beach nourishment, and show that a large share of coastal property value reflects capitalized erosion control. The model is parameterized for coastal properties and physical forcing in North Carolina, U.S.A. and we conduct sensitivity analyses using property values spanning a wide range of sandy coastlines along the U.S. East Coast. The model shows that a sudden removal of federal nourishment subsidies, as has been proposed, could trigger a dramatic downward adjustment in coastal real estate, analogous to the bursting of a bubble. We find that the policy-induced inflation of property value grows with increased erosion from sea level rise or increased storminess, but the effect of background erosion is larger due to human behavioral feedbacks. Our results suggest that if nourishment is not a long-run strategy to manage eroding coastlines, a gradual removal is more likely to smooth the transition to more climate-resilient coastal communities.     

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.     

粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统保护和修复策略

粤港澳大湾区是我国海岸带高强度开发区域,面临着生态环境质量不高、生态系统受损严重的压力,开展海岸带生态系统保护修复是绿色湾区发展的必然需求。在分析大湾区海岸带基底、生态环境现状及问题的基础上,提出大湾区海岸带生态系统保护修复规划的策略,从以下5个方面构筑粤港澳大湾区海岸带生态系统保护修复规划的体系:一是从陆海污染统筹治理来恢复海域生物生存环境;二是从自然岸线保护、自然保护地体系重构与规范化建设、珍稀濒危物种栖息地保护来加强海岸带生态的保护;三是通过岸线生态修复、典型滨海湿地生态系统(红树林、珊瑚礁、海草床)修复、受损海岛生态修复来构筑生态安全屏障;四是从海堤生态化改造与建设、沿海防护林体系建设和海岸带综合防护工程建设来促进生态减灾协同增效;五是打造智慧海岸带管理服务平台来保障海洋命运共同体健康发展。本研究提出大湾区海岸带生态保护修复策略,期望为大湾区生态建设和环境保护提供参考。