Loss, status and trends for coastal marine habitats of Europe
Loss, status and trends for coastal marine habitats of Europe
复制标题
DOI：
10.1201/9781420050943.ch7
复制
发表时间：
2007
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
L. Airoldi;M. Beck
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
L. Airoldi;M. Beck
几个世纪以来，土地开垦、沿海开发、过度捕捞和污染几乎消灭了欧洲湿地、海草草甸、贝类、生物礁和其他多产和多样化的沿海栖息地。据估计，在1960年至1995年期间，每天都有一公里的欧洲海岸线被开发出来。大多数国家估计，沿海湿地和海草的损失超过原面积的50%，许多地区的峰值超过80%。在几个国家已经观察到了明显的下降，有时甚至导致海藻和其他复杂的大型藻类几乎局部消失。随着时间的推移，一些占主导地位的威胁导致了这些损失。对湿地影响最大的一直是土地要求和沿海开发。目前，对海草和大型藻类的最大影响与水质恶化有关，而在过去，破坏性捕捞和疾病的影响更大。沿海开发仍然是对海草的重要威胁。对于生物栖息地，如牡蛎礁和牡蛎，一些最大的影响来自破坏性捕捞和过度捕捞，以及疾病的额外影响，特别是对本土牡蛎。沿海开发和防御对软质沉积物栖息地的影响是已知最大的，拖网很可能影响了大片区域。“改变基线”的概念主要应用于渔业损失不充分的历史视角，它与更广泛的栖息地丧失密切相关。大多数栖息地损失估计指的是相对较短的时间跨度，主要是在上个世纪内。然而，在一些地区，早在1900年之前，大多数河口和近岸海岸栖息地就已经严重退化或几乎灭绝。到20世纪50年代，欧洲大部分海岸线上的本土牡蛎礁在生态上已经灭绝，在此之前的许多海湾也是如此。这些贝类珊瑚礁是最濒危的沿海栖息地之一，但它们受到的保护最少。如今，只有不到15%的欧洲海岸线状况良好。现存的土著栖息地的碎片继续受到威胁，对它们的管理通常没有充分了解它们的分布和状况。有许多政策和指令旨在减少和扭转这些损失，但总体积极效益很低。此外，忽视栖息地丧失和转变的这一长期历史，可能最终会损害欧洲保留下来的少数原生和半原生沿海栖息地的成功管理和未来可持续性。
Over the centuries, land reclamation, coastal development, overfishing and pollution have nearly eliminated European wetlands, seagrass meadows, shellfish beds, biogenic reefs and other productive and diverse coastal habitats. It is estimated that every day between 1960 and 1995, a kilometre of European coastline was developed. Most countries have estimated losses of coastal wetlands and seagrasses exceeding 50% of the original area with peaks above 80% for many regions. Conspicuous declines, sometimes to virtual local disappearance of kelps and other complex macroalgae, have been observed in several countries. A few dominant threats have led to these losses over time. The greatest impacts to wetlands have consistently been land claim and coastal development. The greatest impacts to seagrasses and macroalgae are presently associated with degraded water quality while in the past there have been more effects from destructive fishing and diseases. Coastal development remains an important threat to seagrasses. For biogenic habitats, such as oyster reefs and maerls, some of the greatest impacts have been from destructive fishing and overexploitation with additional impacts of disease, particularly to native oysters. Coastal development and defence have had the greatest known impacts on soft-sediment habitats with a high likelihood that trawling has affected vast areas. The concept of 'shifting baselines', which has been applied mostly to the inadequate historical perspective of fishery losses, is extremely relevant for habitat loss more generally. Most habitat loss estimates refer to a relatively short time span primarily within the last century. However, in some regions, most estuarine and near-shore coastal habitats were already severely degraded or driven to virtual extinction well before 1900. Native oyster reefs were ecologically extinct by the 1950s along most European coastlines and in many bays well before that. These shellfish reefs are among the most endangered coastal habitats, but they receive some of the least protection. Nowadays less than 15% of the European coastline is considered in 'good' condition. Those fragments of native habitats that remain are under continued threat, and their management is not generally informed by adequate knowledge of their distribution and status. There are many policies and directives aimed at reducing and reversing these losses but their overall positive benefits have been low. Further neglecting this long history of habitat loss and transformation may ultimately compromise the successful management and future sustainability of those few fragments of native and semi-native coastal habitats that remain in Europe.