Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:44:42.993Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Towards an evaluation of physical loss pressure in the Italian seas for the implementation of the marine strategy framework directive

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2017

Daniela Paganelli ,
Paola La Valle ,
Marina Pulcini ,
Raffaele Proietti ,
Luisa Nicoletti ,
Barbara La Porta ,
Loretta Lattanzi ,
Alfredo Pazzini ,
Monica Targusi  and
Massimo Gabellini
Daniela Paganelli*
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Paola La Valle
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Marina Pulcini
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Raffaele Proietti
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Luisa Nicoletti
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Barbara La Porta
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Loretta Lattanzi
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Alfredo Pazzini
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Monica Targusi
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
Massimo Gabellini
Affiliation:
ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: D. Paganelli, ISPRA – Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

All over the world marine waters are under increasing pressure from human activities affecting marine ecosystems. Several EU Directives require assessment of the condition of marine environments; in particular the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) applies an ecosystem approach to the management of human activities. In this context, the mapping of pressures in a standardized and comparable way is a critical step to assess the spatial pattern, the temporal change and the ecological impacts of human pressures. Within the MSFD, one of the stressors directly affecting the seafloor is the Physical Loss (PL) pressure, representing the permanent or long-term alteration of marine habitats. The main purpose of this study was to propose a method to estimate the spatial extent of PL pressure in the framework of the Initial Assessment phase of the MSFD. Furthermore, considering that human activities PL-related cause the loss of benthic habitats, and that the Mediterranean sea is characterized by sensitive and protected habitats such as the biogenic substrates sensu MSFD, the distribution of PL pressure was overlaid with the distribution of the seabed habitats to estimate the loss of biogenic substrates. This study represents a useful tool for establishing the baseline condition for PL pressure, to compare future conditions and to evaluate different management scenarios. Moreover, it allows identification of the areas where pressure tends to accumulate as ‘hot spots’ on which to focus in future impact analyses and the areas where few stressors are present.

Keywords

physical lossbiogenic substratesseafloor integrityenvironmental assessmentMarine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Special Issue 1: Special Section: European Marine Biology Symposium Papers 2016 , February 2018 , pp. 61 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andersen, J.H., Stock, A., Mannerla, M., Heinänen, S. and Vinther, M. (2013) Human uses, pressures and impacts in the eastern North Sea. Aarhus University, DCE - Danish Centre for Environment and Energy. Technical Report from DCE - Danish Centre for Environment and Energy 18, 136 pp.Google Scholar
Anon. (2008) Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive). Official Journal of the European Union 164, 19–40.Google Scholar
Barbano, A., Corsini, S., Mandrone, S., Paone, M. and Rotunno, M. (2006) SIGC Sistema Informatico Geografico Costiero. Dipartimento Tutela delle Acque Interne e Marine-Servizio. Rome: Atti dell'APAT, Difesa delle Coste.Google Scholar
Crise, A., Kaberi, H., Ruiz, J., Zatsepin, A., Arashkevich, E., Giani, M., Karageorgis, A.P., Prieto, L., Pantazi, M., Gonzalez-Fernandez, D., Ribera d’Alcalà, M., Tornero, V., Vassilopoulou, V., Durrieu de Madron, X., Guieu, C., Puig, P., Zenetos, A., Andral, B., Angel, D., Altukhov, D., Ayata, S.D., Aktan, Y., Balcioglu, E., Benedetti, F., Bouchoucha, M., Buia, M.C., Cadiou, J.F., Canals, M., Chakroun, M., Christou, E., Christidis, M.G., Civitarese, G., Coatu, V., Corsini-Foka, M., Cozzi, S., Deidun, A., Dell’Aquila, A., Dogrammatzi, A., Dumitrache, C., Edelist, D., Ettahiri, O., Fonda-Umani, S., Gana, S., Galgani, F., Gasparini, S., Giannakourou, A., Gomoiu, M.T., Gubanova, A., Gücü, A.C., Gürses, Ö., Hanke, G., Hatzianestis, I., Herut, B., Hone, R., Huertas, E., Irisson, J.O., Isinibilir, M., Jimenez, J.A., Kalogirou, S., Kapiris, K., Karamfilov, V., Kavadas, S., Keskin, Ç., Kideys, A.E., Kocak, M., Kondylatos, G., Kontogiannis, C., Kosyan, R., Koubbi, P., Kušpilic, G., La Ferla, R., Langone, L., Laroche, S., Lazar, L., Lefkaditou, E., Lemeshko, I.E., Machias, A., Malej, A., Mazzocchi, M.G., Medinets, V., Mihalopoulos, N., Miserocchi, S., Moncheva, S., Mukhanov, V., Oaie, G., Oros, A., Öztürk, A.A., Öztürk, B., Panayotova, M., Prospathopoulos, A., Radu, G., Raykov, V., Reglero, P., Reygondeau, G., Rougeron, N., Salihoglu, B., Sanchez-Vidal, A., Sannino, G., Santinelli, C., Secrieru, D., Shapiro, G., Simboura, N., Shiganova, T., Sprovieri, M., Stefanova, K., Streftaris, N., Tirelli, V., Tom, M., Topaloglu, B., Topçu, N.E., Tsagarakis, K., Tsangaris, C., Tserpes, G., Tugrul, S., Uysal, Z., Vasile, D., Violaki, K., Xu, J., Yüksek, A. and Papathanassiou, E. (2015) A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas: the PERSEUS experience. Marine Pollution Bulletin 95, 28–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eastwood, P.D., Mills, C.M., Aldridge, J.N., Houghton, C.A. and Rogers, S.I. (2007) Human activities in UK offshore waters: an assessment of direct, physical pressure on the seabed. ICES Journal of Marine Science 64, 453–463.Google Scholar
European Commission (2012) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Common Implementation Strategy. Guidance for 2012 reporting under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, 72 pp.Google Scholar
Foden, J., Rogers, S.I. and Jones, A.P. (2008) A critical review of approaches to aquatic environmental assessment. Marine Pollution Bulletin 56, 1825–1833.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foden, J., Rogers, S.I. and Jones, A.P. (2009) Recovery rates of UK seabed habitats after cessation of aggregate extraction. Marine Ecology Progress Series 390, 15–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foden, J., Rogers, S.I. and Jones, A.P. (2011) Human pressures on UK seabed habitats: a cumulative impact assessment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 428, 33–47.Google Scholar
Halpern, B., Diamond, J., Gaines, S., Gelcich, S., Gleason, M., Jennings, S., Lester, S., Macei, A., McCook, L., McLeod, K., Napoli, N., Rawson, K., Rice, J., Rosenberg, A., Ruckelshaus, M., Saier, B., Sandifer, P., Scholz, A. and Ziviant, A. (2012) Near-term priorities for the science, policy and practice of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP). Marine Policy 36, 198–205.Google Scholar
Halpern, B.S., Frazier, M., Potapenko, J., Casey, K.S., Koenig, K., Longo, C., Lowndes, J.S., Rockwood, R.C., Elizabeth, R., Selig, R.E., Selkoe, K.A. and Walbridge, S. (2015) Spatial and temporal changes in cumulative human impacts on the world's ocean. Nature Communications 6, 7615.Google Scholar
Halpern, B.S. and Fujita, R. (2013) Assumptions, challenges, and future directions in cumulative impact analysis. Ecosphere 4, 1–11.Google Scholar
Halpern, B.S., Walbridge, S., Selkoe, K.A., Kappel, C.V., Micheli, F., D'Agrosa, C., Bruno, J.F., Casey, K.S., Ebert, C., Fox, H.E., Fujita, R., Heinemann, D., Lenihan, H.S., Madin, E.M., Perry, M.T., Selig, E.R., Spalding, M., Steneck, R. and Watson, R. (2008) A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science 319, 948–952.Google Scholar
Korpinen, S., Meidinger, M. and Laamanen, M. (2013) Cumulative impacts on seabed habitats: an indicator for assessments of good environmental status. Marine Pollution Bulletin 74, 311–319.Google Scholar
Korpinen, S., Meski, L., Andersen, A. and Laamanen, M. (2012) Human pressures and their potential impact on the Baltic Sea ecosystem. Ecological Indicators 15, 105–114.Google Scholar
Moreno, I., del Barrio, I., Lloret, A. and Perez-Puyol, A. (2012) A method for the spatial analysis of anthropogenic pressures in Spanish marine waters. In International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE) . Coastal Engineering Proceedings 33, 1–10.Google Scholar
Pérès, J.M. and Picard, J. (1964) Nouveau manuel de bionomie benthique de la Mer Méditerranée. Recueil des Traveaux de la Station Marine d'Endoume 31, 1–137.Google Scholar
Rice, J., Arvanitidis, C., Borja, A., Frid, C., Hiddink, J., Krause, J., Lorance, P., Ragnarsson, S.A., Sköld, B., Trabucco, B., Enserink, L. and Norkko, A. (2010) Final Report TG – 6, Seafloor integrity. European Marine Strategy Framework directive, ICES and European Commission, 77 pp.Google Scholar
Stelzenmüller, V., Lee, J., South, A. and Rogers, S.I. (2010) Quantifying cumulative impacts of human pressures on the marine environment: a geospatial modelling framework. Marine Ecology Progress Series 398, 19–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar