The Natural Capital Value of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the North-Western Mediterranean

Diversity

卷:13

Chiara Paoli¹  Giulia Dapueto¹  Carla Morri¹  Monica Montefalcone¹  Ilaria Rigo¹  Carlo Nike Bianchi¹  Paolo Vassallo¹  Alice Oprandi¹  Christine Pergent-Martini²  Gerard Pergent² 

[1] Department of Earth, Environment and Life Science (DISTAV), University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, 16132 Genoa, Italy;

[2] Equipe Ecosystèmes Littoraux, FRES 3041/UMR SPE 6134, Université de Corse, BP 52, 20250 Corte, France;

关键词: Posidonia oceanica;    seagrass;    ecological quality;    natural capital assessment;    Mediterranean;    emergy analysis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/d13100499

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Posidonia oceanica is an endemic Mediterranean seagrass used as a ‘biological quality element’ in monitoring programmes of the EU Water Framework Directive, providing information about coastal ecosystems status. The regression of P. oceanica meadows caused a growing interest among policy makers to assess the value of seagrasses and to increase their protection. An evaluation of P. oceanica meadows located in the Ligurian-Provençal basin (NW Mediterranean) through a biophysical approach is here developed. Six meadows located in Liguria (Italy) and Corsica (France) were investigated by applying the emergy analysis to assess the natural capital (NC) stocked by leaves and rhizomes components. Results highlighted the importance of carrying out an analysis of the variations in the NC value in both components: rhizomes defined the growth stage and the capacity to store NC over time; leaves provided information on the variability due to disturbances in the water column. Emergy analysis allows defining the NC, in terms of resources needed to maintain the meadows and to provide services to coastal communities. This research is inserted into the effort of incorporating the NC evaluation into marine planning and decision making to achieve nature conservation goals, while ensuring the sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

【 授权许可】

Unknown