Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are essential for safeguarding marine biodiversity. Various international and regional agreements require that nations designate sufficient marine areas under protection. Assessing the functionality and coherence of MPA networks is challenging, unless extensive data on species and habitats is available. We evaluated the efficiency of the Finnish MPA network by utilizing a unique dataset of ∼140,000 samples, recently collected by the Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment, VELMU. Using the quantitative conservation planning and the spatial prioritization method Zonation, we identified sites of high biodiversity and developed a balanced ranking of marine conservation values. Only 27% of the ecologically most valuable features were covered by the current MPA network. Based on the analyses, a set of expansion sites were identified that efficiently complement the ecological and geographical gaps in the current MPA network. Increasing protected sea area by just one percent point, would double the mean conservation cover, and specifically increase the protection levels of habitat types based on IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, key species, threatened species and fish reproduction areas. We also discovered that a large part of ecologically valuable species, such as many brown and red algae, blue mussels and eelgrass, exist in the underwater parts of rocky islands and sandy shores. These areas do not belong to the present (Finnish) interpretation of the habitats (e.g., reefs and underwater sandbanks) listed in the EU Habitats Directive. Neglecting these environments may lead to lack of protection of functionally important biodiversity. We emphasize that, in addition to establishing MPAs, also ecosystembased marine spatial planning is needed to safeguard the integrity of marine biodiversity in the northern Baltic Sea. The spatial prioritization maps produced in this study are essentially environmental value maps which can also be used in impact avoidance, such as siting of wind energy and aquaculture, or in avoiding overfishing in the most valuable fish areas. Our approach and analytical procedure can be replicated in the Baltic Sea or elsewhere provided that sufficient data exist.
Human use of marine and coastal areas is increasing worldwide, resulting in conflicts between different interests for marine space, overexploitation of marine resources, and environmental degradation. In this study we developed a methodology that combines assessments of marine environmental vulnerability and cumulative human pressures to support the processes of ecosystem-based adaptive maritime spatial planning. The methodology is built on the spatially explicit marine environmental vulnerability profile (EVP) that is an aggregated product of the distribution of essential nature values (habitat-forming benthic macroalgal and invertebrate species, benthic species richness, birds and seals as top marine predators) and their sensitivities to disturbances. The marine environmental cumulative risk profile (ERP) combines the EVP and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Pressure Index (BSPI), the latter representing the spatial distribution of intensities of cumulative anthropogenic pressures. The ERP identifies areas where environmental risks are the highest due to both long recoveries of the biota and high intensities of human pressures. This methodology can be used in any other sea areas by modifying the list of nature values, their sensitivity to disturbances, and the intensities of human pressure.
Ferromanganese (FeMn) concretions are mineral precipitates found on soft sediment seafloors both in the deep sea and coastal sea areas. These mineral deposits potentially form a three-dimensional habitat for marine organisms, and contain minerals targeted by an emerging seabed mining industry. While FeMn concretions are known to occur abundantly in coastal sea areas, specific information on their spatial distribution and significance for marine ecosystems is lacking. Here, we examine the distribution of FeMn concretions in Finnish marine areas. Drawing on an extensive dataset of 140,000 sites visited by the Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment (VELMU), we examine the occurrence of FeMn concretions from seabed mapping, and use spatial modeling techniques to estimate the potential coverage of FeMn concretions. Using seafloor characteristics and hydrographical conditions as predictor variables, we demonstrate that the extent of seafloors covered by concretions in the northern Baltic Sea is larger than anticipated, as concretions were found at ∼7000 sites, and were projected to occur on over 11% of the Finnish sea areas. These results provide new insights into seafloor complexity in coastal sea areas, and further enable examining the ecological role and resource potential of seabed mineral concretions.
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