A methodological approach to understand functional relationships between ecological indices and human-induced pressures: The case of the Posidonia oceanica meadows

Bacci, Tiziano; Rende, Sante Francesco; Penna, Marina; Trabucco, Benedetta; Montefalcone, Monica; Cicero, Anna Maria; Giovanardi, Franco

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.08.008

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In other words, although visual assessment of pressures based on satellite images or land uses is considered adequate and evaluates humaninduced pressures on the coastal environment reliably, not all sources of pressure or special conditions that may occur only at local scale were taken into consideration. Both methods used could be considered reliable only in terms of broad assessment (Lopez y Royo et al, 2009;Bacci et al, 2013). The use of an enriched with water and sediment key abiotic factors dataset may thus be useful for both an accurate identification of all sources of impact that can affect the meadows of the study area, and discrimination between pressures (Lopez y Bacci et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both methods used could be considered reliable only in terms of broad assessment (Lopez y Royo et al, 2009;Bacci et al, 2013). The use of an enriched with water and sediment key abiotic factors dataset may thus be useful for both an accurate identification of all sources of impact that can affect the meadows of the study area, and discrimination between pressures (Lopez y Bacci et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The implementation of the WFD has led to the development of several biotic indices aiming to assess the response of marine communities to anthropogenic impacts (Marbà et al, 2012). The efficiency of biotic indices as classification and monitoring tools is mainly determined by their ability to identify the ecological quality objectives to be achieved and their ability to provide guidance to policy-makers and managers in planning adequate intervention policies to restore water quality (Bacci et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effectiveness of Posidonia oceanica biotic indices for assessing the ecological status of coastal waters in Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

et al. 2017

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Biotic indices are considered key assessment tools in most national and European policies aimed at improving the quality of coastal waters. At present, several Water Framework Directive (WFD)-compliant biotic indices based on the marine angiosperm Posidonia oceanica have been developed and applied in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of four different P. oceanica indices (POMI, PREI, Valencian CS, and BiPo) in evaluating the ecological status of coastal waters in a case study area of Greece. The evaluation, comparison, and validation of the Ecological Status Class (ESC) assessments obtained by each index were based on a set of eight common sites that encompasses the maximum range of environmental quality in the study area. Four sampling sites separated by tens of km were chosen in each of the two water bodies (WBs) studied. The spatial variations of the features of P. oceanica meadows were examined according to a hierarchical sampling design across four spatial scales, ranging from metres to tens of km, using independent nested analysis of variance. Except for the BiPo index, the reference values for each metric/index were defined by the dataset available for the study area. All biotic indices classified the WBs of the study area in Good ESC category. Only three of the four indices (PREI, Valencian CS, and BiPo) showed high comparability in the assessment of ESC at study site level. It is assumed that the differences found in the remaining index (POMI) are due to the different type of metrics taken into consideration and the different weighting given to them. Our findings suggest that all indices can provide an overall view of the cumulative impact of multiple environmental stressors existing in the study area, and can thus help raise awareness of ecosystem degradation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effectiveness of Posidonia oceanica biotic indices for assessing the ecological status of coastal waters in Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

et al. 2017

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“…Although with different responses in terms of ecological classification, both indices detected a lower ecological quality in the disturbed sites compared with the control ones. This finding attests the sensitivity of both P. oceanica and coralligenous habitats to human impacts and their suitability to be used as ecological indicators in cases of both diffuse and local pressure (Gobert et al , 2009; Bacci et al ., 2013; Cecchi et al ., 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reference values (referring to undisturbed conditions) have been factored into the PREI formula, in such a way that PREI already assumes the meaning of an Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR), by providing a measure of the ‘distance’ from those conditions considered to be ‘natural’. In this regard, Reference Conditions (shoot density = 599 shoots m −2 ; leaf surface area = 310 cm 2 shoot −1 ; E/L = 0; lower limit depth = 38 m) have been modulated on the basis of the Italian national dataset (Bacci et al ., 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple environmental descriptors to assess ecological status of sensitive habitats in the area affected by the Costa Concordia shipwreck (Giglio Island, Italy)

et al. 2017

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the application of multiple environmental descriptors through an asymmetrical sampling design to detect possible impacts related to the Costa Concordia event on the coastal marine environment. The Costa Concordia shipwreck occurred on a submerged rocky reef in the north-western Mediterranean Sea and the wreck was removed 2 years later. To achieve the proposed objective two main coastal ecosystems, the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and coralligenous assemblages were studied using two ecological indices, PREI and ESCA, respectively. Both indices show a lower ecological quality in the disturbed sites compared with the control ones. Differences between the disturbed and control sites observed in both studied ecosystems would seem to indicate an increase of turbidity around the shipwreck as the most plausible cause of impact. The concurrent use of different ecological indices and asymmetrical sampling designs allowed detection of differences in ecological quality of the disturbed sites compared with the controls. This approach may represent an interesting tool to be employed in impact evaluation studies.

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Increasing nutrient inputs over the last 500 years in an Italian low-impacted seagrass meadow

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et al. 2022

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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A methodological approach to understand functional relationships between ecological indices and human-induced pressures: The case of the Posidonia oceanica meadows

Cited by 5 publications

References 20 publications

Effectiveness of Posidonia oceanica biotic indices for assessing the ecological status of coastal waters in Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

Effectiveness of Posidonia oceanica biotic indices for assessing the ecological status of coastal waters in Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

Multiple environmental descriptors to assess ecological status of sensitive habitats in the area affected by the Costa Concordia shipwreck (Giglio Island, Italy)

Increasing nutrient inputs over the last 500 years in an Italian low-impacted seagrass meadow

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