Seagrass meadows are considered to be among the most important marine ecosystems, with regard to both ecology and biodiversity and for the services they provide. Seven species occur in the Mediterranean Sea: Posidonia oceanica (the most common in the open sea), Cymodocea nodosa (particularly common in the eastern basin), Ruppia cirrhosa, R. maritima, Zostera marina and Zostera noltii (mainly in estuaries and brackish lagoons), and Halophila stipulacea (introduced from the Red Sea). Seagrass regression may be due to natural processes and/or natural or anthropogenic disturbances and stress. It can also be due to long-term climate trends, e.g., the post-Last Glacial Maximum rise in sea-level, the Little Ice Age (LIA) cooling and the post-LIA warming, resulting in possible misinterpretation. Human-induced losses of P. oceanica have been mainly related to coastal development, pollution, trawling, fish farming, moorings, dredging, dumping and introduced species. All other seagrasses have also undergone more or less dramatic regression events. In fact, accurate data are generally of very local value and they are lacking for most of the Mediterranean Sea. In the absence of a reliable baseline, some widely cited cases of regression are questionable. Relatively healthy P. oceanica meadows, whose limits have changed little since the 1950s, may thrive in highly anthropized areas. In addition, the decline of one species can benefit another, so that the overall seagrass balance may remain unchanged (e.g., Cymodocea replacing Posidonia). However, to conclude that everything is for the best would be erroneous. First, the lack of data supporting the general regression hypothesis does not invalidate the hypothesis. Indisputably dramatic seagrass losses have been documented (e.g., P. oceanica and Z. marina). Second, the Posidonia regression is irreversible at human scales, while other seagrasses can rapidly recover, and the expansion of some seagrasses (e.g., Cymodocea) cannot counterbalance, in terms of ecosystem services, the decline of the P. oceanica meadows. Third, human pressure (demography, tourism, etc.) on Mediterranean seagrass ecosystems is destined to strongly increase in the coming decades. Finally, the rise in sea-level due to global climate change will automatically induce a withdrawal of the lower limit of seagrass meadows whenever the limit is beyond the compensation depth. So the regression trend observed in Mediterranean seagrasses, even if it proves to be currently weaker than postulated, will significantly increase and become a major concern in the future. There is therefore an urgent need for the adoption of a set of efficient indicators and the setting up of a robust comparative baseline in order to draw up an accurate assessment of the losses and, for seagrasses other than Posidonia, possible gains at Mediterranean scale. In addition, seagrasses and seagrass habitats should be granted legal protection and, where such protection already exists, it should be implemented.

Posidonia oceanica meadows are declining at alarming rates due to climate change and human activities. Although P. oceanica is considered the most important and well-studied seagrass species of the Mediterranean Sea, to date there has been a limited effort to combine all the spatial information available and provide a complete distribution of meadows across the basin. The aim of this work is to provide a fine-scale assessment of (i) the current and historical known distribution of P. oceanica, (ii) the total area of meadows and (iii) the magnitude of regressive phenomena in the last decades. The outcomes showed the current spatial distribution of P. oceanica, covering a known area of 1,224,707 ha, and highlighted the lack of relevant data in part of the basin (21,471 linear km of coastline). The estimated regression of meadows amounted to 34% in the last 50 years, showing that this generalised phenomenon had to be mainly ascribed to cumulative effects of multiple local stressors. Our results highlighted the importance of enforcing surveys to assess the status and prioritize areas where cost-effective schemes for threats reduction, capable of reversing present patterns of change and ensuring P. oceanica persistence at Mediterranean scale, could be implemented.

Seagrass meadows, key ecosystems supporting fisheries, carbon sequestration and coastal protection, are globally threatened. In Europe, loss and recovery of seagrasses are reported, but the changes in extent and density at the continental scale remain unclear. Here we collate assessments of changes from 1869 to 2016 and show that 1/3 of European seagrass area was lost due to disease, deteriorated water quality, and coastal development, with losses peaking in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, loss rates slowed down for most of the species and fast-growing species recovered in some locations, making the net rate of change in seagrass area experience a reversal in the 2000s, while density metrics improved or remained stable in most sites. Our results demonstrate that decline is not the generalised state among seagrasses nowadays in Europe, in contrast with global assessments, and that deceleration and reversal of declining trends is possible, expectingly bringing back the services they provide.

No abstract

No abstract