How does eutrophication impact bundles of ecosystem services in multiple coastal habitats using state-and-transition models

Abstract

One of the current major scientific challenges to sustain social-ecological systems is to improve our understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services. Here, we analyse the bundles of ecosystem services supplied by three coastal ecosystems (coastal lagoons, coral reefs and sandy beaches) along a gradient of eutrophication. Based on a state-and-transition model, we analyses the dynamic responses of ecological communities to environmental change and management actions. Although few exceptions are highlighted, increasing eutrophication in the three ecosystem types leads to a degradation of the ecosystem service bundles, particularly for nutrient and pathogen regulation/sequestration, or for the support of recreational and leisure activities. Despite few obstacles to their full use, state-and-transition models can be very powerful frameworks to integrate multiple functions and services delivered by ecosystems while accounting for their temporal dynamics. Highlights► Gradients of eutrophication modify bundles of coastal ecosystem services. ► Nutrient and pathogen regulation as well as cultural services are particularly impacted. ► State-and-transition model is a powerful framework for environmental management. ► Managers can balance the few gains of eutrophication with the losses of ecosystem services.

Co-producing ecosystem services for adapting to climate change

“…We expect management based on local knowledge and traditions to foster multiple AS for several reasons. First, traditional management is often at the intermediate intensity of resource inputs and disturbances, which promotes taxonomic and functional diversity, and thus multifunctionality [51][52][53]. Second, traditional management often promotes heterogeneous landscapes and spatial connectivity, two important properties for multiple ES [4,54,55].…”

Dataset on marine ecosystem services supplied by coral reefs, sandy beaches and coastal lagoons in different eutrophication states

“…For each ecosystem, eutrophication states are described by dominant species and associated biodiversity. First eutrophication state of coral reefs is characterized by the dominance of hard corals [1] . Other benthic communities present are algal turfs, crustose coralline algae, sponges and benthic cyanobacterial mats [2] .…”

“…First eutrophication state of sandy beaches is described by groups of species defined as reference species living in a non-eutrophic ecosystem, where no green tides occur [1] . In some French Atlantic sandy beaches, these reference species, for marine benthic macrofauna, are part of Tellinidae, Spionidae, Amphiuridae and Nephtyidae families [7] .…”

“…First eutrophication state of primary production of coastal lagoon is characterized by a dominance of reference species that are typical of a lagoon environment in oligotrophic conditions [1] . For French Mediterranean coastal lagoons, the reference genus are the marine phanerogams Zostera and Ruppia which form seagrass beds, and perennial benthic macroalgae (eg.…”

Green Out of the Blue, or How (Not) to Deal with Overfed Oceans

“…Th is prism focuses on describing the complexity of responses of social-ecological systems to massive anthropogenic nutrient inputs, on governance issues and on stakeholder participation to river-basin governance (e.g., Franzén et al 2011;Nunneri and Hofmann 2005). Recent works endorse an analytical framework for ecosystem services to assess impacts of coastal eutrophication, while emphasizing the need for nonmonetary assessment and qualitative inquiry to approach the cultural dimension of environmental degradation (Kermagoret et al 2019;Willis et al 2018).…”