Testing the application of the Systems Approach Framework (SAF) for the management of eutrophication in the Ria Formosa

The SAF (Systems Approach Framework) encompasses the ecological, social and economic components of coastal zones and aims to establish a permanent dialogue between scientists, stakeholders and policy makers working within European coastal zones for developing effective ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management). The objective of the present study is to test the application of the SAF for defining eutrophication management options in the Ria Formosa, Portugal. Stakeholders were identified and the issue of eutrophication was agreed upon. Having defined the virtual system, the conceptual model of the Ria Formosa was developed. The formulation of the conceptual model into a mathematical model representing the ecological, social and economic components of the system is then discussed. The linking variable of the three components within the simulation model, as well as the scenarios to be run are then explored. The role of scientists as facilitators within the deliberation process is discussed, and a format by which the final output package could be disseminated is suggested. This case study demonstrates how the SAF could successfully be applied to the management of eutrophication in the Ria Formosa. It also suggests ways in which this approach may be adapted to address unique coastal systems with specific system characteristics.     

Resilience assessment on coastline changes and urban settlements: A case study in Seribu Islands, Indonesia

The sustainable development in the ocean and costal areas has been an issue for the archipelago nation. Since two decades ago, some archipelago nations have attempted to implement the concept of both scientifically and politically sounding sustainability. The vulnerability assessment is one of the methods that are being used to measure the ocean and coastal sustainability in order to have better evaluation and redesign of the land development as well as policy making. Most of the vulnerability assessment has been conducted based on pressures, damages and changes that involve in the region. A common understanding of the vulnerability assessment is that there are three aspects to be considered: hazards, resilience and damages. These three aspects must be well defined at first in order to have better indicators or sub-indices for the vulnerability index. There are several issues and factors that should be considered before performing the vulnerability assessment. Firstly, each country has different coastal characteristics due to a different geologic process. Secondly, the three aspects of the vulnerability (i.e. hazards, resilience and damages) are impacting on each country at a different scale. Thirdly, the vulnerability of a small island region is different from that of a large island region. Finally, policies and regulations vary in each country.From the data analysis results, it is found that the urban settlement in Seribu Islands is one of the resilient factors in addition to the geological and geomorphological conditions. The resilience factors in Seribu Islands are classified into four categories: 1) settlements area, 2) population density, 3) hard infrastructure such as airfields, ports and roads, 4) geological process such as abrasion and erosion. Based on the island characteristics of Seribu Islands, a unique vulnerability index that fits to this locality is developed. It is shown that the vulnerability index developed in this study can measure the resilience of Seribu Islands. In addition to the aforementioned resilience factors, the unique geographical condition and the geological stability in Seribu Islands made the outer islands become a barrier from oceanographic conditions and made the inner islands protected. However, the population growth made significant changes in terms of ecology, water, sanitation and pollution within the region.     

Three main stressors acting on the Ria Formosa lagoonal system (Southern Portugal): Physical stress, organic matter pollution and the land–ocean gradient

During the last 15 years of the 20th century, several researchers carried out extensive sampling of benthic macrofauna communities in the Ria Formosa lagoon. The main objective of this paper is to discern the main communities of benthic fauna of the Ria Formosa and the leading stressors that limit them based on this large data set.The high species richness and high diversity values observed at most of the stations or groups of stations indicate a good ecological status, with the exception of the sewage-impacted areas and the physically stressed areas. It was possible to define three main stressors acting on the Ria Formosa. The most important is the physical stress imposed by the limited water renewal in some areas of the Ria Formosa. The second is the nutrient and organic matter pollution that is limited to the vicinity of the sewage outfall stations and to some locations of the Ria Formosa. This is due to the dual effects of the low residence time of water, but also due to a degradation of water quality in places of relatively restricted water circulation but with high primary production, symptoms of eutrophication. The third stressor is the natural land–ocean gradient, denoting the influence of seawater exchanges and emersion time, attenuated by the high water exchange rates of Ria Formosa.It was possible to differentiate the anthropogenic stress from the natural physical stress through the application of multivariate analysis. However, both structural (species richness and diversity indices) and functional indicators (trophic composition) indicate the same trend – low species richness, low diversity indices, and a community dominated by detritivores species at the locations characterized by high anthropogenic impact or by physical stress. The physically stressed areas were dominated by chironomid larvae and hydrobiid gastropods and the most polluted areas were dominated by oligochaetes, mainly tubificids.     

In two waters: contemporary evolution of lagoonal and marine white seabream (Diplodus sargus) populations

Brackish water ecosystems are often exposed to wide variations in environmental variables, including temperature and salinity, which may cause strong selective pressures on organisms modifying the genetic patterns of species. The aim of this work was to test whether there is a ‘divergence-with-gene flow’ in coastal lagoon populations of white seabream (Diplodus sargus) (Ria Formosa, S Portugal and Mar Menor, SE Spain) respect to four marine populations, by using partial sequences of cyt b mitochondrial gene and information from nine microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity was highest in both coastal lagoons (Mar Menor and Ria Formosa) considering mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Although some of F_ST population pairwise comparisons were not significant, analyses of molecular variance (AMOVAs) detected differences between groups (coastal lagoon and marine) close to significance. Also, only two haplotypes (Cytb-17 and Cytb-18) were detected in both coastal lagoon sampling sites and these localities (Mar Menor and Ria Formosa) showed the highest number of singletons, some of them with a high number of mutations, as has been already described for other Mar Menor populations (Pomatochistus marmoratus and Holothuria polii). Also, several tests detected significant positive and balancing selection considering mtDNA and microsatellite data. These data support the hypothesis of selection as one of the drivers of the genetic differences found between coastal lagoon and marine populations. The life strategy adopted by Diplodus sargus in coastal lagoons allows it to decrease its mortality rate and improve the heritability of its genes. Also, the increase time spent in coastal lagoons with different temperatures and salinities favours the fitness selection and the maintenance of exclusive haplotypes and genotypes in coastal lagoon inhabitants favouring the ‘divergence-with-gene-flow’.     

Home range,residency and movements of Diplodus sargus and Diplodus vulgaris in a coastal lagoon: Connectivity between nursery and adult habitats

Acoustic telemetry and standard tag-recapture were used to determine the home range and residency of juveniles and sub-adults of Diplodus sargus and Diplodus vulgaris in the Ria Formosa (Portugal) coastal lagoon. Maximum time between recaptures for the standard tag-recapture method was 128 days for D. sargus and 30 days for D. vulgaris. The majority of the fish were recaptured in the vicinity of the tagging location. Fish tagged with acoustic transmitters had a maximum period of time between first and last detections of 62 days for D. sargus and 260 days for D. vulgaris. Minimum convex polygons areas ranged between 148?024 m² and 525?930 m² for D. sargus and between 23?786 m² and 42?134 m² for D. vulgaris. Both species presented a high residency index between first and last detections. Two D. sargus tagged with acoustic tags were recaptured by fishermen outside the coastal lagoon at distances of 12 km and 90 km from the tagging position, providing evidence that this species leaves the Ria Formosa during the winter time for the adjacent coastal waters. The results of this study reinforce the importance of Ria Formosa as a nursery for D. sargus and D. vulgaris in the south coast of Portugal.     

Applicability of sediment transport models to evaluate medium term evolution of tidal inlet systems

This paper derives local formulae to estimate bed roughness and suspended transport and present a method to calculate net sediment transport at tidal inlet systems, combining field data and a range of well established empirical formulations. To accomplish this, measurements spanning a spring-tidal cycle of mean water levels, waves, near-bed flow turbulence and bed forms were obtained from the Ancão Inlet, Ria Formosa lagoon system, Portugal. High-resolution hydrodynamic data were gathered using acoustic equipments and by measuring sediment properties (grain-size diameter and bed form dimensions) under fair-weather conditions. The results compared favourably with available direct and indirect field observations of sediment transport rates. The approach appears to be robust and widely applicable and so can be applied to the same conditions in any tidal inlet system. This is of particular importance when attempting to understand sediment transport at inlet mouths, and has practical applications in a range of coastal engineering and coastal management areas concerned with navigation safety, coastal erosion, ecosystem health and water quality. The study discusses the applicability of the method on evaluating system flushing capacity, giving important insights on multiple inlet evolution, particularly with regard to their persistence through time. The methodological framework can be applied to assess the long-term stability of single- and multiple-inlet systems, provided that estimates of sediment storage at ebb-tidal deltas are available and sediment transport estimates during storm events are statistically considered.     

A coastal management program for channels located in backbarrier systems

Management of the interactions between social/economic interests and the coastal environment requires practical, interdisciplinary assessment techniques. Backbarrier systems are critical natural resources that provide both economic and social benefits. Activities such as aquaculture, fishing, shipping and port activities, sediment mining, salt extraction, and tourism all take place in these ecosystems but are often not compatible with each other. Therefore, a program to manage such a system must congregate many different types of activities and stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests. In this paper, we develop a proposed coastal management program (CMP), based on the driving-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework and the integrated coastal management (ICM) cycle, for the management of channels located in backbarrier systems subject to dredging operations. The conceptual model involves the application of regional sediment management (RSM) actions and is applied to a case study, Faro Channel, located in the Ria Formosa backbarrier system in Algarve, Portugal. The CMP provides results on the interactivity between scientists, stakeholders, and decision-makers, by defining and clarifying the economic and environmental aspects of decision-making processes through the utilisation and measurement of local coastal indicators. The proposed CMP proved to be a useful tool in the definition of coastal management initiatives for channels inside backbarrier systems, since it identified management problems and allowed management solutions to be formulated. The CMP could be used within a broader ICM program but would also be effective when used on its own.     

山东沿海岛屿概况及其开发

山东沿海共有305个岛屿,大部分岛屿的面积小于O.1km~2。,高度小于20m。按岩性分为基岩岛(包括岛、群岛和陆连岛)和冲积沙岛(包括沙岛和贝壳沙岛)。根据海岛的不同特点,可综合开发为海珍品基地和旅游避暑胜地。     

A methodology for defining homogeneous water bodies in estuaries – Application to the transitional systems of the EU Water Framework Directive

A methodology is developed and tested for division of estuarine and coastal systems into water bodies for monitoring and management purposes. This division is often implicit in the choice of sampling stations and in pollution abatement measures applied to different locations – it is now an explicit requirement of European Union Directive 2000/60/EC (Water Framework Directive) and recommended by United States Agencies such as EPA and NOAA. The approach considers both natural characteristics and the human dimension, by means of a stepwise methodology, which considers, on the one hand, morphology and salinity distribution, and, on the other, appropriate indicators of pressure and state. In the present application, nitrogen and phosphorus loading was used as the pressure component and chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen as indicators of state. The criteria for system division were defined based on (1) an adimensional shape factor and salinity classes for the natural component; and (2) a normalised pressure index and (ASSETS) eutrophication symptom classes for the human dimension. Water quality databases and GIS were used to develop spatial distributions for the various components, and the results were aggregated into a final water body division, using tidal excursion as a “common sense” test. The methodology was applied to three well-studied systems in Portugal, a tubular estuary (Mondego), a wide lagunal estuary (Sado) and a coastal barrier island system (Ria Formosa). Although a final definition of water bodies will usually be a policy decision, this type of approach for the division of coastal systems into management units scientifically informs the decision-making process.     

Potential implications of global warming and barrier island degradation on future hurricane inundation,property damages,and population impacted

Hurricane flooding is a leading natural threat to coastal communities. Recent evidence of sea level rise coupled with potential future global warming indicate that sea level rise will accelerate and hurricanes may intensify over the coming decades. In regions fronted by barrier islands, the protective capacity of these islands may diminish as they are degraded by rising sea level. Here we present a hydrodynamic and geospatial analysis of the relative role of barrier island degradation on potential future hurricane flooding. For the City of Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, hurricane flooding is projected to rise between 20% and 70% by the 2030s, resulting in an increase in property damages and impacted population. These findings indicate that adaptive management strategies should be developed and adopted for mitigating loss of natural barrier islands when these islands act as protective features for populated bayside communities. Finally, this study illustrates a method for applying models to forecast future storm protection benefits of barrier island restoration projects.     

福建沿海岛屿土地资源可持续利用研究──以平潭岛为例

以平潭岛为例，分析了平潭岛土地资源的基本状况、土地利用特点和存在问题，提出福建沿海岛屿土地资源可持续利用的原则和途径。     

海岸带脆弱性评估方法研究进展

海岸带脆弱性源于气候变化、海平面上升、人类活动的共同作用,而海岸带脆弱性评估的误差主要是来自海岸环境演化预案和社会经济发展预案的不确定性。为了提高评估精度,应确定海岸系统内、外部驱动力及其关键变量,研究自然和人类活动共同作用下的海岸系统演化过程、海岸系统风险发生的机制、以及海岸系统承载力和阈值,通过遥感和地理信息系统技术集成,建立适用的预案,用于脆弱性综合评估。     

海平面上升背景下的海岸带脆弱性评价——以东营市为例

海平面上升是全球海岸带区域面临的共同威胁。构建以地面高程、地面沉降速率、沟壑密度、地表坡度、人口密度、国内生产总值（Gross Domestic Product,GDP）密度、建筑密度和斑块密度为指标的脆弱性评价体系,利用层次分析（Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP）法并采用海岸带脆弱性指数模型评价了海平面上升引起的山东东营市海岸带脆弱性状况。研究结果表明：轻度脆弱区和中度脆弱区分别为2 134.79 km²和1 967.61 km²,在评价区域中占比较大,约占评价区域的33.09%和30.50%;其次为重度脆弱区和低度脆弱区,面积分别为1 061.18 km²和891.80 km²,分别占评价区域的16.45%和13.82%;极度脆弱区面积最小,为396.31 km²,仅占评价区域的6.14%。东营市的县区中,东营区几乎完全被极度脆弱区与重度脆弱区覆盖,受海平面上升威胁最严重;广饶县也拥有较多的重度和极度脆弱区;河口区内部脆弱程度东高西低;垦利区脆弱度总体相对较低;利津县是脆弱程度最低的县区,辖区内绝大部分区域为低度或轻度脆弱区,没有重度或者极度脆弱的区域。东营市各地区可参考评估结果,有针对性地采取应对措施并在未来的经济发展与城区规划过程中充分考虑脆弱性评估的结果,适度规划海岸防护工程,为城市的可持续发展提供技术保障。     

Hurricane impact and recovery shoreline change analysis of the Chandeleur Islands,Louisiana, USA: 1855 to 2005

Results from historical (1855–2005) shoreline change analysis conducted along the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana demonstrate that tropical cyclone frequency dominates the long-term evolution of this barrier island chain. Island area decreased at a rate of −0.16 km²/year for the relatively quiescent time period up until 1996, when an increase in tropical cyclone frequency accelerated this island area reduction to a rate of −1.01 km²/year. More frequent hurricanes also affected shoreline retreat rates, which increased from −11.4 m/year between 1922 and 1996 to −41.9 m/year between 1982 and 2005. The erosional impact caused by the passage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was unprecedented. Between 2004 and 2005, the shoreline of the northern islands retreated −201.5 m/year, compared with an average retreat rate of −38.4 m/year between 1922 and 2004. A linear regression analysis of shoreline change predicts that, as early as 2013, the backbarrier marsh that serves to stabilize the barrier island chain will be completely destroyed if storm frequency observed during the past decade persists. If storm frequency decreases to pre-1996 recurrence intervals, the backbarrier marsh is predicted to remain until 2037. Southern portions of the barrier island chain where backbarrier marsh is now absent behave as ephemeral islands that are destroyed after storm impacts and reemerge during extended periods of calm weather, a coastal behavior that will eventually characterize the entire island chain.     

Barrier island stratigraphy and Holocene history of west-central Florida

Although the morphology of the barrier-inlet system along the west-central Florida coast is quite complicated, the stratigraphy of these barriers is rather simple. The basal Holocene unit in most cores is an organic-rich, muddy sand that represents a vegetated, paralic marine, coastal environment similar to that which is north and south of the present barrier system. Above that unit is a muddy, bioturbated sand that displays a marine fauna at most locations but also contains Crassostrea virginica in a few places. These sediments accumulated in a low-energy marine setting that may or may not have been protected by a barrier island. Much of this facies also represents sediment that was delivered as washover deposits in an intertidal or subtidal setting and was subsequently bioturbated. The facies that can be attributed to a barrier island with some certainty are no more than 3000 years old, and on most islands, are much younger. These are the shelly sand and sorted sand facies. The shelly strata represent deposition in nearshore, beach, supratidal washover or intertidal spillover environments, and tidal inlet and tidal delta channels, whereas the sorted sand is typical of eolian deposition in dunes or the backbeach and some tidal delta elements. The presence of Holocene oyster beds offshore of a present barrier suggests that some of these islands formed significantly offshore and moved to their present position through washover. It is likely that most of these barriers initially formed through upward shoaling by waves. Although there is significant morphologic difference between the wave-dominated and mixed-energy, drumstick barrier islands, their stratigraphy is quite similar. The only significant difference is the presence of extensive progradation on at least part of the drumstick islands and a relatively high amount of former washover deposits on the wave-dominated type.     

我国典型海岛地质灾害类型特征及成因分析

本文通过海岛调查及已有文献资料分析,发现我国典型海岛存在滑坡、海岸侵蚀、海水入侵、湿地退化、水土流失、地面沉降、风沙灾害、断层、港湾淤积、滩面冲蚀、沙滩泥化、浅层气、砂土液化、地震、软土地基15种地质灾害类型。滑坡灾害最多,基岩岛岛岸、岛陆和近岸海底均可发生;其次为海岸侵蚀,在基岩岛、泥沙岛均有分布,主要发生于岛岸;再次为海水入侵(含咸潮入侵),在基岩岛、泥沙岛岛岸均可发生;湿地退化也在基岩岛、泥沙岛岛岸均可发生;其他灾害类型的分布较少。通过对海岛典型地质灾害的成因机制分析,发现各地质灾害都是自然因素和人为活动共同作用的结果,并且人为活动的影响逐渐加剧,各地质灾害之间还存在着成因上的联系。     

海岛生态脆弱性的内涵、特征及成因探析

海岛生态系统拥有明显且独特的脆弱性,对海岛的生态环境和社会经济构成威胁。准确把握和有效控制海岛生态脆弱性是维护海岛生态系统、合理开发利用海岛的根本前提,一套科学、统一且针对性强的概念体系是海岛生态脆弱性研究的基础。参考相关研究,以海岛生态系统的特殊性为基点,以我国海岛为侧重点,通过梳理和分析大量海岛典型案例,提出并探析海岛生态脆弱性的内涵、特征和成因。海岛生态脆弱性是在独特的自身条件和复杂的系统干扰下海岛生态系统表现出的易受损性和难恢复性,具备长期性、分异性和可调控性的特征;特殊的地理位置、有限的规模大小和明显的空间隔离使得海岛生态系统具有明显的海陆二相性、资源短缺性和独立完整性,与不同类型、不同程度的自然扰动和人为干扰相互作用,形成并加剧海岛生态脆弱性。概念体系的建立能够为海岛生态脆弱性的深入分析与合理调控提供切实依据。     

Integrated coastal resources management and community participation in a small island setting

The concept of integrated coastal zone management must be rethought to adapt it to the geography and social conditions of small islands. Because of their size, all small islands are in the coastal zone. Defining the whole of the island and its coastal waters as the management area may weaken a program's effectiveness. An alternative may be to adapt special area management planning to the socio-spatial organization found on small islands. Social conditions on islands, where people live in relatively small cohesive communities, makes resource user participation in planning and management particularly germane. This paper outlines an argument for small islands to use participation as a central strategy of coastal management based on experience with natural resource management efforts on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.     

上海基岩海岛浮山岛的侵蚀现状及保护修复

基于基岩海岛侵蚀研究,利用基岩海岸演变模型,界定浮山岛的海蚀岸类型,估算浮山岛基岩海岸侵蚀后退速率,并结合实地登岛调查分析,提出了浮山岛保护修复方案。建议采用生物屏障的手段达到消浪作用,减少海岸侵蚀,恢复当地生态系统;同时采用生态和工程结合的方式在浮山岛和浮山东岛两岛之间创造潮间带沼泽地,并栽种草本植物来稳定沼泽地,以缓减断裂谷继续发育。     

百年一遇潮位淹没影响下山东沿海地区经济脆弱性评价

经济发达的山东沿海局部地区地势低平,海堤多为五十年一遇标准,一旦发生百年一遇风暴潮淹没事件,将会带来巨大的经济损失。因此,对山东沿海地区经济脆弱性进行评价,有助于减灾防灾措施的实施。本文借助DEM、遥感数据和GIS评价百年一遇潮位淹没影响下山东沿海地区经济脆弱性。研究结果如下:百年一遇潮位淹没影响范围主要集中在潍坊、东营和滨州;龙口、福山、芝罘、莱山、威海四市、临胶州湾各区与日照沿海的东港区和岚山区GDP密度较高,滨州、东营、潍坊各市、区,莱州、招远、蓬莱、牟平、海阳、莱阳、即墨与平度的GDP密度较低;淹没深度较大地区集中在潍坊,东营部分地区,胶州湾及日照沿海地区;结果表明:(1)经济脆弱性极高地区分布在寒亭区,城阳区;经济脆弱性很高地区为黄岛区;经济脆弱性为高的地区有东港区、莱州市、寿光市、昌邑县、广饶县与东营区等地;(2)脆弱性成因:寒亭区、寿光市、昌邑县、广饶县、东营区、莱州市、县是淹没面积大,淹没深度大;黄岛区、东港区及城阳是GDP密度大,淹没深度大;(3)预防风暴潮灾害可通过加强预警预报与应急预案建设,调整经济分布,加强柽柳湿地保护与积极扩大柽柳湿地范围等方法。