Lagoons and Coastal Wetlands in the Global Change Context: Impacts and Management Issues: Selected papers of the International Conference “CoastWetChange”, Venice, 26–28 April 2004

164 Pages·2007·2.642 MB·English

by  Pierluigi Viaroli, Pierre Lasserre (auth.), P. Viaroli, P. Lasserre, P. Campostrini (eds.)

Developments in Hydrobiology 192
Series editor
K. Martens
Lagoons and Coastal Wetlands in the Global Change Context:
Impacts and Management Issues
Lagoons and Coastal Wetlands in the Global
Change Context:
Impacts and Management Issues
Selected papers of the International Conference
‘‘CoastWetChange’’, Venice, 26–28 April 2004
Edited by
1 2 3
P. Viaroli , P. Lasserre and P. Campostrini
1DipartimentodiScienzeAmbientali,UniversityofParma,VialeUsberti33A,43100
Parma,Italy
2PierreandMarieCurieUniversity-ParisVI,France
3CORILA,Venice,Italy
Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 577 (2007)
123
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
P. Viaroli, P. Lasserre, P. Campostrini 1–3
Broad-scale modelling of coastal wetlands: what is required?
L. McFadden, T. Spencer, R.J. Nicholls 5–15
Coastal dynamics and wetlands stability. The Ebro delta case
H.I. Valdemoro, A. Sa´nchez-Arcilla, J.A. Jime´nez 17–29
Coastal and estuarine ecological risk assessment: the need for a more formal
approach to stressor identification
M.C. Newman, Y. Zhao, J.F. Carriger 31–40
Observations on future sea level changes in the Venice lagoon
D. Zanchettin, P. Traverso, M. Tomasino 41–53
Definingthecoastandsentinelecosystemsforcoastalobservationsofglobalchange
R.R. Christian, S. Mazzilli 55–70
Distribution and production of macrophytes and phytoplankton in the lagoon of
Venice: comparison of actual and past situation
A. Sfriso, C. Facca 71–85
Growthand survival ofthe invasivealga, Caulerpa taxifolia,indifferentsalinitiesand
temperatures: implications for coastal lake management
E.J. West, R.J. West 87–94
Studies on the zooplankton community of a shallow lagoon of the Southern Baltic
Sea: long-term trends, seasonal changes, and relations with physical and chemical
parameters
M. Feike, R. Heerkloss, T. Rieling, H. Schubert 95–106
Hydrographic,geomorphologicandfishassemblagerelationshipsincoastallagoons
A. Pe´rez-Ruzafa, M.C. Mompea´n, C. Marcos 107–125
Species–area patterns of benthic macro-invertebrates in Italian lagoons
L. Sabetta, E. Barbone, A. Giardino, N. Galuppo, A. Basset 127–139
Index of size distribution (ISD): a method of quality assessment for coastal lagoons
S. Reizopoulou, A. Nicolaidou 141–149
Low variation atallozyme loci and differences between age classes at microsatellites
in grass goby (Zosterisessorophiocephalus) populations
P.M. Bisol, A. Gallini, S. Prevedello, E. Rianna, E. Bernardinelli, A. Franco, L. Zane 151–159
Ecological engineering in intertidial saltmarshes
J.T. Morris 161–168
Hydrobiologia(2007)577:1–3
DOI10.1007/s10750-006-0412-9
LAGOONS AND COASTAL WETLANDS
Preface
Pierluigi Viaroli Æ Pierre Lasserre Æ
Pierpaolo Campostrini
(cid:1)
SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2007
Lagoonsandcoastalwetlandsareamongthemost areas. At present, nearly 40–50% of the popula-
common environments in the transitional zone tion lives within 100 km of the coastline, includ-
located between terrestrial ecosystems and adja- ing some of the world’s largest cities (Crossland
cent seas. Their persistence and ecosystem pro- et al., 2005).
cesses are controlled by complex interactions The impact of human activities on the vari-
among stressors and fluxes of material between ability of coastal systems is considerable, and
land, ocean and atmosphere. As a result, coastal usuallyleadstodeteriorationandlossesofmarine
zones are among the most changeable and resources, standing stocks and coastal landscape.
vulnerableenvironmentsonEarth.Amongother, These pressures have dramatically increased in
natural factors that have the largest impact on thelastfewdecadesandwillcontinueandevolve,
coastal lagoons and wetlands are sea-level rise, especially in developing countries. Therefore,
precipitation and river runoff, and storminess lagoons and coastal wetlands are expected to be
(Crosslandetal.,2005;Eisenreich,2005).Natural affected by growing modification, i.e. urbanisa-
stressorsareinterconnectedinmanywaysandare tion, exploitation for aquaculture, marinas and
often associated with human impact. In recent tourism,aswellasbylarge-scaleclimaticchanges.
decades, most coastal ecosystems have experi- Most coastal lagoons and their watersheds are
enced strong anthropogenic pressures, due to influencedbyseaeustatismandaresubjectedtoa
progressive human migration from continental natural subsidence that has been accelerated by
marshland reclamation, groundwater and natural
gas extraction. The combination of subsidence
Guesteditors:P.Viaroli,P.Lasserre&P.Campostrini and sea-level rise may not be balanced by
LagoonsandCoastalWetlandsintheGlobalChange
accretion of coastal wetlands, resulting in in-
Context:ImpactsandManagementIssues
creased flooding and saltwater intrusion into
P.Viaroli(&) freshwater wetlands. Furthermore, a rising sea
DipartimentodiScienzeAmbientali,Universityof level combined with more frequent storms and
Parma,VialeUsberti33A,Parma43100,Italy
associated surges are likely to cause enhanced
e-mail:[email protected]
coastal erosion. Wetlands and barrier islands
P.Lasserre reduce storm surges and weaken their energy, to
PierreandMarieCurieUniversity,ParisVI,France a greater extent than artificial sea defences.
An increased variety of land uses have
P.Campostrini
CORILA,Venice,Italy contributed to increased changes in watershed
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2 Hydrobiologia(2007)577:1–3
structure and hydrographic networks. Overall, distinctive elements of wetland biodiversity in a
these alterations influence coastal wetlands and globalcontext,asopposedtoconservationtargets
nearshore coastal waters through spatial depen- framedfromtoonarroworarbitrarynationaland
dent and time-lagged processes that control the regional boundaries.
deliveryofnutrientsandpollutants(Valielaetal., Identification of proxies and climate-sensitive
1997). keystonespecieshavingalargeimpactontherest
Coastallagoonsandwetlandsarerecognisedas ofthecommunityneedstobeachievedinatimely
highly unpredictable environments. There is evi- manner in order to develop appropriate monitor-
dence that within certain thresholds, marine ing programmes. The initiative of establishing an
communities and ecosystems are resilient to international Global Terrestrial Observing Sys-
environmental changes and can buffer against tem (GTOS) and particularly its coastal module
external stresses. However, resilience and buffer- would be largely beneficial in improving the
ing capacities do not follow linear behaviour, but capacity for detecting and predicting the effect
rather undergo sudden and exponential re- of global climate change on coastal systems
sponses. Therefore, an increasing stress—e.g. by (GTOS, 2005).
physical and chemical stressors—can result in The international Conference ‘‘CoastWet-
rapid regime shifts and irreversible deterioration Change—Lagoons and Coastal Wetlands in the
of the aquatic ecosystems. Assessments are fur- Global Change Context: Impacts and Manage-
ther hampered by lack of historical time series, ment Issues’’ was organized in Venice, 26–28
Venicelagoon,WaddenSeaandChesapeakeBay April 2004, at the initiative of UNESCO and
being probably the only environments where this CORILA, to provide an interdisciplinary forum
analysis has been attempted. to share knowledge and experience of recent
Coastal lagoons and wetlands have also a developments in wetland science and global
recognisedhumandimension,andtheyconstitute change. The aim was to identify gaps, problems
an invaluablehistoricalandcultural heritage, e.g. and successes in the integration of global change
the lagoon of Venice or the smaller coastal issues into lagoon and coastal wetland manage-
lagoons scattered along the Mediterranean coast. ment. Based upon current scientific evidence,
Over the last twenty years, the scientific climate change will create novel challenges for
community has taken an increasing interest in coastal and marine ecosystems that are already
these important areas. Since the symposium stressed from human development, land-use
organised in 1981 by UNESCO/SCOR Consulta- change, environmental pollution, habitat alter-
tive Committee on coastal systems (Lasserre & ation and loss. Venice was an emblematic venue
Postma, 1982), several studies were published, for this meeting. Included in the World Heritage
focusing on hydrology, biology and ecological List established by UNESCO under the World
classification criteria, as well as on the coastal HeritageConvention,Veniceanditslagoonarea
managementandconservationstrategiesofcoast- unique place internationally recognized as a
al wetlands (Mitsch & Gosselink, 2000). In the ‘‘laboratory’’ for sharing and improving innova-
last decade, the main research fields were func- tive technologies, developing knowledge in sci-
tional ecology and biogeochemistry, in respect of ence and culture and for providing opportunities
ecosystem alterations and buffering capacity (see for intellectual exchange.
as an example Kjerfve, 1994; Caumette et al., Most of the papers contributed to the confer-
1996; Schramm & Nienhuis, 1996; Viaroli et al., ence have been published earlier (Lasserre et al.,
2005). 2005). This volume comprises of 13 selected
It is now urgent to identify the influence of papers, of which five are reviews and eight
globalchange,fromregional(e.g.eutrophication, primary research papers. A group of review
degradation, erosion and loss of natural habitats) papers, Section 1, analyses the main ecological
and local impacts (e.g. urbanisation, contamina- and hydrogeomorphic features of coastal wet-
tion, and tourism activities). Among others, an lands, with respect to climate change, including
important aspect lies in the conservation of changes in sea level. Two papers address the
123
Hydrobiologia(2007)577:1–3 3
importance of lagoons and wetlands as sentinel References
ecosystems for coastal observations of global
change, and on the significance of flooding and Caumette, P., J. Castel & R. A. Herbert, (eds), 1996.
Coastal lagoon eutrophication and anaerobic pro-
ecological risk assessment applied to specific and
cesses(C.L.E.AN).Hydrobiologia329:xxviii+225p.
more general situations. Finally, the research
Crossland, C. J., H. H. Kremer, H. J. Lindeboom,
papers (Section 2) highlight our present under- J. I. Marshall Crossland & M. D. A. Le Tissier,
standing of the recent evolution of lagoons and (eds), 2005.Coastalfluxes intheAnthropocene. The
IGBPseries,Springer,Berlin,231p.
coastal wetlands, including population dynamics,
Eisenreich,S.J.,2005.ClimatechangesandtheEuropean
community succession, biogeochemical processes
water dimension. A report to the European Water
andpollution,keybiologicalelementsandrelated Directors. EUR 21553 EN. IES-JRC, European
indicators. Commission,Ispra,Italy,253p.
GTOS, 2005. Coastal GTOS. Strategic design and phase
Not every author has chosen the state-of-the-
1 implementation plan. GTOS report 36, Rome,
artapproach.Somehavepreferredtoconcentrate
FAO.
on, from their point of view, crucial problems, Kjerfve, B., 1994. Coastal Lagoon Processes. Elsevier
which need further elucidation. A few give a SciencePublishers,Amsterdam,xx+577p.
Lasserre, P. & H. Postma, (eds), 1982. Coastal Lagoons.
detailed analysis and synthesis of the human-
Proceedings of the International Symposium on
induced changes and rehabilitation measures.
CoastalLagoons,Bordeaux,France,8–14September
These differences are probably significant for 1981. UNESCO, IABO, SCOR. Oceanologica Acta,
our knowledge today, which is patchy in both specialissue,461pp.
Lasserre, P., P. Viaroli & P. Campostrini, (eds), 2005.
space and depth.
Lagoons and coastal wetlands in the global change
context:Impactsandmanagementissues.Proceedings
Acknowledgements The‘‘CoastWetChange’’International oftheInternationalConference,Venice,26–28April
ConferencewassponsoredandfundedbyUNESCO-ROSTE 2004.UNESCO,ICAMDossier3.
andCORILA,underthepatronageoftheMunicipalityand Mitsch,W.J.&J.G.Gosselink,2000.Wetlands.J.Wiley,
theProvinceofVenice.WearemostgratefultoUNESCO- NewYork.
ROSTE,Venice,inparticulartoitsDirector,HowardMoore, Schramm, W. & P. H. Nienhuis, (eds), 1996. Marine
andtoPhilippePypaertforhostingtheConferenceatPalazzo benthic vegetation. Recent changes and the effect of
Zorzi and for supporting the participation of scientists, in eutrophication. Ecological Studies 123. Springer,
particular from developing countries and from Eastern Berlin.
Central Europe. The personnel of CORILA, in particular Valiela, I., G. Collins, J. Kremer, K. Lajtha, M. Geist,
FredericBrochierandBarbaraGiuponi,wereinstrumentalin B. Seely, J. Brawley & C. H. Sham, 1997. Nitrogen
assisting with all aspects of preparing, organising and loading from coastal watersheds to receiving estuar-
publishing the Conference. This publication of the ies:newmethodandapplication.EcologicalApplica-
Conference Proceedings has received support from the tion7:358–380.
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and Viaroli, P., M. Mistri, M. Troussellier, S. Guerzoni &
UNESCO’s Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences. A. C. Cardoso, (eds), 2005. Structure, Functions and
Finally, we wish to thank the International Scientific EcosystemAlterationsinSouthernEuropeanCoastal
Committee of the Conference and reviewers who were Lagoons.Hydrobiologia550:vii+269p.
extremelyhelpfulinthechoiceofinvitedparticipantsandin
themanuscriptrevision.
123
Hydrobiologia(2007)577:5–15
DOI10.1007/s10750-006-0413-8
LAGOONS AND COASTAL WETLANDS
Broad-scale modelling of coastal wetlands:
what is required?
Loraine McFadden Æ Tom Spencer Æ
Robert J. Nicholls
(cid:1)
SpringerScience+BusinessMediaB.V.2007
Abstract A Wetland Change Model has been quantifying broad-scale vulnerabilities of coastal
developed to identify the vulnerability of coastal wetlands to forcing from sea-level rise discussing
wetlands at broad spatial (regional to global controlling factors of tidal range, sediment avail-
(meanspatialresolutionof85 km))andtemporal ability and accommodation space, identification
scales(modellingperiodof100 years).Themodel of response lags and defining the threshold for
provides a dynamic and integrated assessment of wetland loss and transition.
wetland loss, and a means of estimating the
transitions between different vegetated wetland
types and open water under a range of scenarios
of sea-level rise and changes in accommodation Introduction
space from human intervention. This paper is an
overview of key issues raised in the process of Coastal zones are currently experiencing intense
and sustained environmental pressures from a
range of natural, semi-natural and anthropogenic
drivers (Mitsch & Gosselink, 2000). Increased
Guesteditors:P.Viaroli,P.LasserreandP.Campostrini. resource use, environmental protection and the
LagoonsandCoastalWetlandsintheGlobalChange
incorporation of social and equity issues into
Context:ImpactsandManagementIssues
decision-making must evolve in the context of
L.McFadden(&) physicalandecologicalsystemswhichshowmulti-
FloodHazardResearchCentre,Middlesex scale dynamics and considerable uncertainties in
University,Queensway,EnfieldEN34SA,UK
likely response to near future environmental
e-mail:[email protected]
change (Poff et al., 2002; Morris et al., 2002).
T.Spencer Bothshort-termandgeologicalrecordsshowthat
CambridgeCoastalResearchUnit,Departmentof coastal wetlands are particularly sensitive to
Geography,UniversityofCambridge,DowningPlace,
change within the coastal zone (Allen, 2000;
CambridgeCB23EN,UK
Schwimmer & Pizzuto, 2000; French & Spencer,
e-mail:[email protected]
2002). Given such sensitivities, changes in wet-
R.J.Nicholls land extent, position and type can be expected as
SchoolofCivilEngineeringandtheEnvironment,
accelerated sea-level rise increases forcing on
UniversityofSouthampton,HighfieldSouthampton
wetland systems. Specific wetland loss mecha-
SO171BJ,UK
e-mail:[email protected] nisms may include a range of natural processes,
123
6 Hydrobiologia(2007)577:5–15
including edge erosion and retreat; internal dis- seeks to capture the broad-scale response of
section by the expansion of creek networks and wetlands to sea-level rise, integrating key drivers
surface ponds; changes in inundation frequency, of wetland behaviour including human impacts
waterlogging and in situ vegetative and root suchasdikeconstructionorwetlandnourishment
decay, and also human modification of marsh (increasingsedimentsupply).Thispaperdiscusses
topography, sedimentology, ecology and hydrol- key concepts raised in the process of modelling
ogy (Mendelssohn & Morris, 2000). Within these broad-scale wetland behaviour, underlining the
contexts, this paper presents a new broad-scale problemsofanalysisatsuchspatialscales.Future
wetlandmodelwhichfocussesupontheimpactof developmentsarealsoconsidered,especiallyhow
relative sea-level rise on wetlands within the this type of approach could be linked to other
coastal zone. broad-scale monitoring efforts.
Improving on earlier broad-scale assessments
of wetland vulnerability (Hoozemans et al., 1993;
Nichollsetal.,1999)andunderpinnedbyagreatly Broad-scale modelling of wetland behaviour
improved global wetlands database (Vafeidis
et al., 2004), the Wetland Change Model (i) Modelling broad-scale wetland response to sea-
provides a dynamic and integrated assessment of level rise is important from a number of perspec-
regional to global patterns of coastal wetland tives. In the first instance it strengthens our
vulnerabilityandwetlandloss;(ii)determinesthe understanding of the mechanisms which control
ecologicalsensitivityofdifferentwetlandtypesto the behaviour of the wetland system as a large-
environmental forcing and the likelihood of tran- scale unit within the physical landscape. Identify-
sition to other wetland types and (iii) permitsthe ing ‘hotspots’ of wetland loss and a broad-scale
assessmentoftherelativeimportanceofsea-level assessment of levels of wetland vulnerability
rise,sedimentsupplyandcoastalprotection mea- enables coastal managers and national organisa-
sures in affecting wetland vulnerability. This tionstomakedecisionsonthebestuseoflimited
model represents one module within the DIVA resources(Hammar-Klose&Thieler,2001).Such
integrated assessment model for coastal areas modelling forms a basis from which effective
(Dynamic Interactive Vulnerability Assess- plans can be developed to manage wetland
ment)—developedwithintheEU-fundedDINAS- change. In addition to this spatial dimension,
COAST Project (Dynamic and Interactive broad-scale modelling is important to our under-
Assessment of National, Regional and Global standingoflong-termtrajectoriesoffuturemarsh
VulnerabilityofCoastalZonestoClimateChange behaviour. Important feedback mechanisms at
and Sea-Level Rise, www.dinas-coast.net). The longer-time scales (e.g. elevation/accretion rela-
DIVAtoolhasbeendesignedtoassessimpactand tionships) mean that short-term measurements
vulnerabilityofthecoastalzonetosea-levelriseat cannot be simply extrapolated to identify
regional to global scales and is driven by a set of behavioural trends within a medium- to long-
internally consistent ‘mid-term’ (until 2100) sce- term temporal framework.
nariosofsea-levelriseandsocio-economicdrivers The Global Vulnerability Assessment (or
of societal sensitivity to plausible impacts of GVA) and its subsequent revision provided the
accelerated sea-level rise and adaptive capacity first worldwide estimate of both socio-economic
(Hinkel & Klein, 2003). DIVA identifies coastal and ecological implications of accelerated sea-
units that are particularly vulnerable to sea-level level rise(Hoozemans etal.,1993; Nicholls etal.,
rise and adverse human interventions and allows 1999). Based on a range of simple assumptions
for the evaluation of a range of response options concerning rates of sea-level rise, subsidence and
(McFadden et al.,inpress). the response of the wetlands to sea-level forcing,
Following the aim of the DINAS-COAST the GVA gives a first-order perspective on
Project, the Wetland Change Model transforms wetland loss rates. However, the datasets have
a dynamic assessment of wetland vulnerability incomplete coverage, only three wetland types
into patterns of wetland loss and transition. It are considered, and wetland losses are only
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