Working document
Project;
task;
subtask
1.8.4.3:
Analysis of pressures integration into ecosystem assessment
Partners
involved
UMA, UAB and Geoville
Date
20/07/14
Prepared
by:
Ana I. Marín (UMA), Raquel Ubach (UAB), Dania Abdul Malak (UMA)
Coastal and marine ecosystem
Contents
1.
Introduction................................................................................................. 2
2.
Goals .......................................................................................................... 3
3.
Major pressures ........................................................................................... 5
4.
Input datasets ............................................................................................. 5
4.1
Terrestrial coast ........................................................................................ 6
4.2
Marine Inlets and transitional waters ........................................................... 7
4.3
Marine environment ................................................................................... 8
5.
Indicator development .................................................................................11
5.1
Coastal environment .................................................................................11
5.2
Marine environment ..................................................................................11
5.2.1
Habitat change ..................................................................................11
5.2.2
Climate Change .................................................................................13
5.2.3
Pollution............................................................................................15
5.2.4
Invasive species .................................................................................20
5.2.5
Exploitation .......................................................................................22
6.
Main outcomes and outlook ..........................................................................25
7.
References .................................................................................................26
Annex 1. Major pressures identified for each sea region ............................................28
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1. INTRODUCTION
Marine and coastal ecosystems are usually considered together in EEA’s assessments, as
both are highly interrelated. The coastal environment is a heterogeneous ecosystem,
hosting a wide variety of different habitats associated both to water and land. Coast is
defined by the EEA as a mixed area distinguished by the coming together of land and
sea, delimited by the strip of land 10 km inland from the coastline plus the first 10 km
seaward (EEA, 2006).
For the current assessment, and in accordance to the ecosystems-related tasks within
the ETC-SIA framework, the EUNIS classification is the reference for ecosystems
definitions and typologies. At the same time, this work is also intended to give support to
the general EU Biodiversity strategy 2020 framework (Target 2 - Action 5). For this
reason, the proposed ecosystem typology defined by MAES working group has also been
considered in the present approach, where the broad marine ecosystem is divided into
two environments: coastal and marine. Here, ‘Coastal environment’ considers those
terrestrial habitats that always occur along the coast including marshes, sea cliffs,
intertidal habitats and coastal dunes; and also some aquatic habitats effectively occurring
adjacent to the coast, such as marine inlets and transitional waters. Coastal ecosystems
can be defined and spatially delineated using the following EUNIS habitat classes (Figure
1):
 terrestrial coast comprising coastal dunes and sandy shores (B1), coastal
shingle (B2), and rock cliffs, ledges and shores (B3), and
 aquatic coast including estuaries (X1) and saline and brackish coastal lagoons
(X2-X3).
This represents a different approach to the MAES definition of ‘coastal areas’ which refers
to coastal, shallow, marine systems that experience significant land-based influences,
with diurnal fluctuations in temperature, salinity and turbidity, and also affected by wave
disturbance (MAES, 2013). This is why we slightly modified the name to 'coastal littoral',
so a clear differentiation is made with the terrestrial stripe of coast, widely used in other
assessments, e.g. like the SOER.
On the other hand, 'Marine environment' is characterised by marine waters, and
composed of habitats directly connected to the oceans below the high tide limit (as
defined by EUNIS). Marine ecosystems are a complex of habitats defined by the wide
range of physical, chemical, and geological variations that are found in the sea. Habitats
range from highly productive near-shore regions to the deep sea floor inhabited only by
highly specialised organisms (EEA, 20101). Marine ecosystems can be divided into the
following EUNIS classes found in the ‘coastal littoral’, ‘shelf’ and ‘open ocean’ (Figure 1):
 Littoral rock and other hard substrata (A1)
 Littoral sediment (A2)
 Infralittoral rock and other hard substrata (A3)
 Circalittoral rock and other hard substrata (A4)
 Sublittoral sediment (A5)
 Deep seabed (A6)
 Pelagic water column (A7)
 Ice-associated marine habitats (A8)
1
EU 2010 biodiversity baseline
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Figure 1. Marine ecosystem typology approach linking different classifications
(MAES in red and EUNIS in orange).
2. GOALS
The marine area under the jurisdiction of EU Member States covers a wide extension,
much larger than the total European land. There is still a variety of challenges to build
and improve current knowledge base related to the marine environment. In this line, the
Blue Growth long term strategy is presented to support sustainable growth in the marine
and maritime sectors. Seas and oceans are expected to gain importance as drivers to
spur European economy and have great potential for innovation and growth. This is
expected to contribute to the major frame of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth.
Nowadays, European marine ecosystems support multiple industries such as shipping,
fishing, offshore wind energy, tourism, and different resources extraction such as oil, gas
and minerals (EEA, 2010), among others. European industries operating in the marine
environment are already making an important contribution to the European economy.
Fishing activities are probably one of the oldest ways of marine resources exploitation
and have traditionally been part of the human social fabric, evolving together. But the
appearance of new activities using marine resources has brought together their derived
pressures. Fortunately, these different activities and pressures have appeared at different
historical moments (Figure 2) being ecosystems capable to, at a certain level, recover
their prior condition. However, it has to be accounted that now these different pressures
can occur at the same time. And also, it has to be considered that pressures derived from
maritime activities are combined with those resulting from land-based activities. The
cumulative effect of all these pressures can compromise ecosystem’s resilience and
where thresholds are exceeded the result is the damage of ecosystems integrity and the
loss of ecosystems services.
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Figure 2 Simplified illustration of maritime uses and pressures on the marine
and coastal environment.
Source: Adapted from Jackson et al., 2001 (EEA, 2012)
Therefore, the assessment of pressures in Coastal and Marine ecosystems is essential to
build current knowledge to achieve a sustainable use of resources. In this sense, first it is
required to analyse the state of more relevant and available datasets, followed by the
strategic select of the most adequate ones to map the variety of combined factors
pressuring ecosystems’ biodiversity in these ecosystems as defined in figure 1.
The task aims at defining a comprehensive methodology to match the source of coastal
and marine data related to anthropogenic pressures as listed in table 1. For each driver
of change, it develops indicators for the major pressures based on data relevance and
availability of and then produces datasets (provided separately on the EEA ftp) and maps
that are included in this report.
The steps followed are:
•
Check the availability and evaluate the coverage and suitability of data
compiled in 2013 report,
•
Analyse their relevance to assess coastal and marine pressures,
•
Select the input datasets, in order to simplify the proposal, according to their
feasibility and weight on coastal and marine assessment,
•
Provide a workflow on assessing coastal and marine pressures with the
selected input data.
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3. MAJOR PRESSURES
In order to propose a final selection of the input datasets to be included in the analysis, a
pre-selection of the major pressures to focus the study on was done building on the
major drivers and pressures identified in ETC-SIA´s 2013 report Towards a PanEuropean Ecosystem Assessment Methodology (task 222_5_2) and the MAES 2 nd
technical report.
For each European Sea, a bibliographical search was done and the main pressures were
listed (Annex 1) and then linked to the main drivers of change as shown in table 1.
Major pressures summary
Sea Region
Driver of pressure
Pressure
BAL
NEA
MED BLS
Habitat change
Physical damage: Siltation
x
Habitat change
Physical damage: Abrasion
x
x
x
Habitat change
Coastal degradation
Habitat change* / Pollution
Intensive shipping
x
Habitat change / Pollution
Underwater noise
x
Habitat change / Pollution
Offshore activities (oil, gas
and wind farming)
Habitat change / Pollution
Marine litter
Pollution and nutrient enrichment
Nutrient and organic matter
x
enrichment
x
x
x
Pollution and nutrient enrichment
Contamination by hazardous
x
substances
x
x
x
Climate change
Ocean acidification
x
Climate change
Ocean warming
x
Exploitation
Fisheries
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
* colisions (e.g. between whales and ships, birds and wind turbines, or the blocking effect of bridges on birds)
Table 1. links the major pressures identified under each driver of change in each
European Sea.
4. INPUT DATASETS
The tables below provide the link between inputs datasets, the indicator to develop and
the relevance of the indicator based on the reliability of coverage of input datasets to be
used.
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4.1 Terrestrial coast
Drivers
Use
Pressure
Indicator
Datasets available
Coastal and
Marine
Reference year
(for
the
assessment)
Note
-
-
Ecosystem size
Surface – delimitation of ecosystem
Pan-European ecosystem map (EEA, ETCSIA)
High
Reliability
(HR)
2006
Ecosystem/
delimitation
Habitat change
Pressure
Sealing
Land take
Land cover flows (LCF) –EEA-
2000-2006
Applying a buffer around
the
terrestrial
–coats
ecosystem
Habitat change
Pressure
Sealing/fragmentation
Harbours
Port dataset -Eurostat - GISCO -
2012
Weighted according to the
total annual cargo volume
Habitat change
Trends in
Pressure
Pollution
Pressure
Introduction
of
pollutant compounds
Bathing sites, beaches and beach replenishment
Bathing Water Directive –EEA
HR
2012
Pollution
Pressure
Introduction
of
pollutant compounds
Waste treatment plant
Urban waste water treatment database –
EEA-
HR
2011
Pollution
Trends in
Pressure
Introduction
of
pollutant compounds
Changes in state of bathing water
State of bathing water
HR
2008-2013
Invasive
species
Pressure
Invasive species
Invasive species
Invasive alien species in Europe (SEBI 010)
<1900-2008
Invasive
species
Pressure
Invasive species
Alien species
Level of invasion by alien plants 1
See 1
1
habitats
Coastal erosion trends
Gaps in input datasets
making its use inadequate
Chytrý M., Pyšek P, Wild J, Pino J, Maskell LC and Vilà M (2009) European map of alien plant invasions based on the quantitative assessment across habitats; Diversity and
Distributions, 15: 98-107 DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2008.00515.x
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Invasive
species
Climate change
Exploitation
Exploitation
Terrestrial Alien Species in Europe EASIN JRC
Pressure
Pressure
Change in exposure to coastal storm surge
events
Potential impact of changes in inundation
heights of a sea level rise
Climate change
Pressure
Tourism
Pressure
Population
use
/
public
Finally not used as inputs.
Data not homogeneous for
European countries. Low
reliability.
HR
ESPON-Climate
ESPON-Climate
Number of beds per square kilometer
Number bed-places by NUTS 3 regions
Population density
Population density disaggregated with
Corine land cover 2000 –EEA-
2011
HR
2000
Bathing sites, beaches and beach replenishment
Table 2 lists the main pressures (and trends whenever possible) threatening terrestrial coast ecosystems caused by the main
drivers of change and the measures used to assess their effects
4.2 Marine Inlets and transitional waters
Drivers
Use
Pressure
Indicator
Datasets available
Coastal and
Marine
Reference year
(for
the
assessment)
Note
-
-
Ecosystem size
Surface – delimitation of ecosystem
Pan-European ecosystem map (EEA, ETCSIA)
HR
2006
Ecosystem/
delimitation
Habitat change
Pressure
Environment
degradation
Population density
Population density disaggregated with
Corine land cover 2000 –EEA-
HR
2000
Habitat change
Pressure
Environment
degradation
Decreasing of natural land use
Land cover flows
HR
2000-2006
Waste treatment plant
Urban waste water treatment database –
EEA-
HR
2011
Hazardous / nutrient content
Transitional, coastal and marine waters –
Waterbase-
Habitat change
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1978-2012
habitats
Relevant dataset for future
assessment. Gaps. Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
European Topic Centre Spatial Information and Analysis
Habitat change
Trend in
pressure
Coastal erosion trends
Coastline dynamics
Geomorphology, Geology, Erosion trends
and Coastal defence works –EEA-
Pollution
Pressure
Introduction
of
pollutant compounds
Bathing sites, beaches and beach replenishment
Bathing Water Directive –EEA
HR
2012
Pollution
Pressure
Introduction
of
pollutant compounds
Waste treatment plant
Urban waste water treatment database –
EEA-
HR
2011
Pollution
Pressure
Invasive
species
Pressure
Climate change
Exploitation
Exploitation
Pressure
Introduction
of
pollutant compounds
Hazardous / nutrient content
Climate change
Change in exposure to coastal storm surge
events
Potential impact of changes in inundation
heights of a sea level rise
Pressure
Tourism
Pressure
Population
use
/
public
2004
Transitional, coastal and marine waters –
Waterbase-
1978-2012
Relevant dataset for future
assessment. Gaps in input
dataset (v11). Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
ESPON-Climate
ESPON-Climate
Number of beds per square kilometer
Number bed-places by NUTS 3 regions
2011
Population density
Population density disaggregated with
Corine land cover 2000 –EEA-
HR
2000
Bathing sites, beaches and beach replenishment
Bathing Water Directive –EEA-
HR
2012
Table 3 lists the main pressures (and trends whenever possible) threatening marine inlets and transitional waters ecosystems
caused by the main drivers of change and the measures used to assess their effects
4.3 Marine environment
Drivers
Use
Pressure
Indicator
Datasets available
Coastal and
Marine
Reference year
(for
the
assessment)
Note
-
-
Ecosystem size
Surface – delimitation of ecosystem
Pan-European ecosystem map (EEA, ETCSIA)
HR
2006
Ecosystem/
delimitation
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Habitat change
Habitat change
Pressure
Pressure
Abrasion
Pressure
Sealing
Habitat change
Trends in
pressure
Change
regime
Pressure
Trawler fishing
Demersal marine fish captures -FAO-
Dredging
Dredging and aggregate
activities –EMODNET-
Dredge spoil dumping
Dredge spoil dumping –EMODNET-
Coastal urbanisation and defence structures
Imperviousness
Thermal power plants (fossil-fuel and nuclear)
EnergyPlants400MW.mdb
Street Map
Accident density
Accident density –EMSA-
Intensity of marine use
Intensity of marine use. Shipping lanes NCEAS
Harbours
Port dataset -Eurostat - GISCO -
extraction
in
thermal
Introduction
of
pollutant/synthetic
compounds
and
HR
2009
HR
2009
HR
2012
Open
Transitional, coastal and marine waters –
Waterbase-
1978-2012
E-PRTR reporting of 2007 data
2007
Hazardous substance
Pollution
Pressure
Introduction
of
hazardous compounds
Waste treatment plant –proxy-
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Relevant dataset for future
assessment.
Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
Gaps in Celtic Sea, North
sea, Eastern Mediterranean
sea and Black
sea.
Currently
not
publicly
available
Change in siltation
Habitat change
Pollution
2010, 2011 and
2012
HR
2007-2012
Weighted according to the
total annual cargo volume
Relevant dataset for future
assessment. Gaps in input
dataset (v11). Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
Relevant dataset for future
assessment.
Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
European Topic Centre Spatial Information and Analysis
Pollution
Invasive
species
Pressure
Pressure
Introduction
nutrient
Nutrient content
Transitional, coastal and marine waters –
Waterbase-
Waste treatment plant –proxy-
Urban waste water treatment database –
EEA-
HR
2011
Nutrient from fertilizers
Nutrient inputs- NCEAS-
HR
1993-2002
Number of invasive species
Total number of invasive species per grid
–NCEAS-
MR
1999 -2003
of
Invasive species
Invasive
species
Pressure
Invasive species
Number of invasive species
Number of invasive species by marine
Ecoregion - EASIN-
Climate change
Pressure
Sea level change
Predicted sea level change
Hydrodynamics and Sea level rise –EEA-
Climate change
Pressure
Sea
temperature
Increase in Sea Surface Temperature
Exploitation
Pressure
Energy platform
surface
Energy production
Aquaculture
Exploitation
Pressure
1978-2012
Fisheries
Change in Sea Surface TemperatureNCEAS
EnergyPlants400MW.mdb and Open
Street Map
Aquaculture production (CSI 033) –EEA-
Pressure
Transport
Shipping intensity
Total catch in ICES and GFCM fishing
regions in Europe –EEA-
HR
Capture production by fishing areas -FAO-
HR
Intensity of marine use. Shipping lanes World
Meteorological
Organization
Voluntary Observing Ships Scheme
1985-2005
2008
Fishing
Exploitation
Data not homogeneous for
sea
region.
Relevant
dataset
for
future
assessment.
MR
MR
Relevant dataset for future
assessment. Gaps in input
dataset (v11). Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
2008(GFCM)
2009 (ICES)
Relevant dataset for future
assessment.
Complex
database requiring detailed
analysis
Processed by NCEAS
Table 4 lists the main pressures (and trends whenever possible) threatening marine ecosystems caused by the main drivers of
change and the measures used to assess their effects
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5. INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT
The indicators identified previously build on the input datasets that have quantitative or
qualitative origins. The ranges of each input dataset are defined through the use of a
reference or proxy (whenever reference is not available) to identify the threshold and
based on which to set the ranges of data to develop individual pressure ranges (for an
overview on the methodology, please refer to report 1). Based on these ranges,
individual qualitative pressure indicators are normalised to a common range from very
low to very high pressures (15).
5.1 Coastal environment
In a compromise between output quality and present resources, it was decided to give
priority to the elaboration of pressure indicators on the marine environment and to leave
the development of pressure indicators on terrestrial coast ecosystem and on the marine
inlets and transitional waters for the coming exercises, when findings and directions set
out in the present document can be followed.
5.2 Marine environment
Using the proposed approach, the rationale of the assessment should be focused on
applying the knowledge available to address those drivers of pressures producing
changes in biodiversity within ecosystems, causing loss of species and biological
diversity, and affecting the wellbeing of ecosystem’s health. The main direct drivers of
ecosystem change causing major pressures on ecosystems as set by the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment are habitat change, climate change, pollution and nutrient
enrichment, invasive species, and resource exploitation (MA, 2005).
5.2.1 Habitat change
Habitat change is a driver of change that produces habitat loss or degradation. It is
considered the result of many direct and indirect pressures leading to total or partial
destruction or removal of a habitat and its replacement by another habitat type. Physical
loss includes smothering and sealing of ecosystems (e.g. by man-made structures,
permanent constructions or disposal of dredge spoil), while physical damage is due to
changes in siltation, abrasion and selective extraction of non-living resources. Other
physical disturbances can be done by underwater noise, or by inference with hydrological
processes (changes in thermal and salinity regimes). For all these, habitat change is one
of the major causes of biodiversity loss.
Here it is proposed a composite indicator:
-
Indicator 1 - trawling: Trawler fishing damages the seabed by abrasion. In
particular, bottom trawling targeted to demersal fishing can cause large-scale
destruction on the ocean seabed by damaging habitats, removing seaweed and
shattering coral reefs. Although seabed trawling is the most destructive pressure
for the benthic communities (Zisenis et al., 2013), there is currently no spatial
data available for the whole extent of EU sea regions for this activity. Therefore, a
proxy is proposed to estimate the pressure of trawler fishing. Data from FAO
Fishery statistical collection (mean capture production in tonnes accounting 2010,
2011 and 2012) has been disaggregated by country according national Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZ) and summed by production area (sea regions).
-
Indicator 2 – soil sealing: The construction of new structures produces soil
sealing. This information is derived from imperviousness data for 2009. The mean
percentage of soil sealed has been computed for each 1km2 by aggregation,
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showing the degree of urbanisation, and consequently, the degree of pressure
from habitat change by urban structures (including ports, coastal defence and
offshore constructions, among others).
-
Indicator 3 - thermal change: Change in thermal regime – from outfalls of
thermal power plants, including both fossil-fuel power stations and nuclear power
plants. The main power plants and stations, those producing more than 400MW
per year, were geo-located and referenced by UAB within a task for the EEA
(ETCSIA IP2011). This dataset has been updated and enriched with data from
Open Street Map project (OSM). A spatial selection of those plants located within
a distance of 1500 m landward from the coastline is applied to power plants from
EEA internal database. The pressure is computed according to the distance to the
source up to a threshold of 10 km (as defined by HELCOM (Andersen and Stock,
2012)). Therefore, a major pressure is produced closer to the power plant.
The habitat change pressure is calculated based on the combination of three subindicators: [trawling], [ss] and [thermal]. The values of each sub-indicator are
normalised into 1 to 5 (check table below, the break values for pressure classes need
further expertise consultation). The sub-indicators are weighted and summed to combine
the accumulated pressure related to habitat change (this decision needs further expertise
consultation). Higher weighting values have been set for trawling and soil sealing due to
the irreversible or highly destructive nature of their impacts.
𝐻𝐶ℎ = 0,4 ∗ [trawling] + 0,4 ∗ [ss] + 0,2 ∗ [thermal]
The resulting assessment ranges between values from 0 to 4,4 (see next table), which
are distributed into five pressure classes (classified by jenks natural breaks), from very
low to very high, as a proxy to assess the pressure on a Pan-European scale.
Trawler fishing*
(tonnes/year)
Soil sealing
(%)
1-1025
1026-3730
3731-11194
11195-32302
32303-102241
1-20
20-40
40-60
60-80
80-100
Distance
to
thermal
sources (km)
8-10
6-8
4-6
2-4
0-2
Normalised
values
HCh**
values
Pressure
classes
1
2
3
4
5
0 – 0,59
0,59 – 1,59
1,59-1,98
1,98-2,59
2,59-4,4
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
* Classification by quantiles
** Classification by natural breaks
Table 5 Normalisation of the indicators for trawling, soil sealing and thermal
and the calculation of the HCh indicator on the level of pressure on marine
ecosystems from Habitat change.
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Figure 3 HCh indicator showing the potential level of pressure of habitat change
on marine ecosystems due to trawling, soil sealing and thermal regime changes.
On the right, zoom to highlight pressures due to thermal change (top) and soil
sealing (bottom).
5.2.2 Climate Change
Climate change produces variations in the life cycles of many biota groups. Climatic
warming has proven to push them to move to different biogeographic regions and uphill,
among main these effects are altering frog and fish spawning, birds nesting, the arrival
of migrant species and earlier spring phytoplankton blooms.
The effects of climate change on oceans are relevant altering the temperature, sea level
and acidification. The main consequences of atmospheric warming would be the warming
of oceans and shift in habitat ranges which lead to changes in algae, plankton and fish
abundance in high latitude oceans (IPCC, 2007).
The pressure on Marine ecosystems due to climate change was determined by a
composite indicator from two single sub-indicators of effects in the seas:
-
Indicator 1: Change in sea surface temperature (SST) from NCEAS measure as
the frequency of temperature anomalies, where the temperature exceeds a
threshold value like the long-term mean (differences in anomaly frequency
between 2000-2005 and 1985-1990). The relevance of this indicator lies in the
SST influence in the marine ecological processes at different latitudes. This
dataset cover completely work extension.
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-
Indicator 2: sea level rise (SLR) along the European Coast. This data, created
within the framework of Eurosion project, shows the sea level rise in mm/year
using a point shapefile. The data location is situated 50 to 100 km away from the
shoreline with a distance between then of, approximately, 100 km. By GIS tools,
the point measures were extrapolated to work extension in order to cover the
Barents and Norwegians seas (being aware the data errors by extrapolation
techniques in area with gaps or without close data).
The climate change pressure is calculated based on the combination of indicators [SST]
and [SLR]. The values of each indicator are transformed into 1 to 5 (check table below,
the break values for pressure classes need further expertise consultation). The indicators
are summed (no weighted mean was set to combine both indicators - this decision needs
further expertise consultation).
The resulting assessment ranges between 1 and 55 (next table) that are distributed in
five pressure classes (from very low to very high) as proxy to assess the pressure level
on Pan-European.
SST changes
< 0.2
(0.2 – 0.4]
(0.4 – 0.6]
(0.6 – 0.8]
> 0.8
SST index
1
2
3
4
5
SLR*
< -4.86
(-4.86 – -0.73]
(-0.73 – 1,12]
(1.12 – 1,79]
> 173
SLR index
10
20
30
40
50
CCh value
1,11
12, 21, 22
13,23,31,32,33
34, 41, 42, 43, 44
45, 51
Pressure classes
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
* Classification by natural breaks method
Table 6 Normalisation of the indicators SST and SLR and the calculation of the
CCh indicator on the level of pressure on marine ecosystems from Climate
change.
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Figure 4 shows the CCh indicator showing the potential level of pressure of
climate change on marine ecosystems due to sea surface temperature changes
and sea level rise
5.2.3 Pollution
Pollution and nutrient enrichment occur when excessive harmful components are
introduced into an ecosystem exceeding the capacity of ecosystems to maintain their
natural balance, deriving in different threatens to the life cycles and the biodiversity they
contain. This driver entails the contamination by hazardous substances and the nutrient
and organic matter enrichment. The first one entails the introduction of synthetic
compounds through the atmospheric deposition of dioxins, oil spills and slicks;
introduction of non-synthetic substances and compounds to the ecosystem (input of
heavy metals both by waterborne or atmospheric deposition); and introduction of
radionuclides by discharges of radioactive substances. While the second includes the
input of nutrients and organic enrichment due to fertilizers from aquaculture, agriculture
runoff, atmospheric deposition and waterborne inputs. The pollution pressures into this
first approach for marine pressure assessment have been derived by two main factors:
the introduction of synthetic compounds and the introduction of nutrient.
Shipping and port are essential to EU economy with, on the other hand, relevant effects
on marine and coastal environment. The introduction of non-synthetic and synthetic
compounds is one of major pressures derived from shipping and port activities, among
other (Boteler et al., 2014). A special point is the hazardous substances with the
introduction of pollution synthetic compounds which has to be included into the
assessment as relevant point. A proxy to pollution pressure could be done based on the
assessment of seven substances: the metals cadmium, lead and mercury, the pesticides
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DDT and lindane, and other two synthetics - HCB and PCBs (as MAR 001 indicator1) in
the monitoring station and the environmental quality standards (EQSs) for priority
substances (PSs) of EU-wide relevance known as (EQSD2). Due to complexity of data
sources (see table 1) and time restraint and unavailable resources, this has not been
included for the current year´s activities.
Indicator1 –SyC-: Introduction of pollutant/synthetic compounds
The proxy to assess the pressure on marine ecosystem due to the introduction of
synthetic compounds could be done considering three factors: the accident density,
harbours and the intensity of marine uses by shipping lanes. A composite index has been
developed taking into these three variables.
1. The accident density –AD- map shows an overview of accident in the seas around
the European Union based on EMSA 3 data. The database gives three levels of
density from low to high. In cases where there was no information the small value
was given.
2. The harbours –H- are hot-spots regarding the introduction on pollutant
compounds. The dataset, from GISCO-Eurostat, shows the port location. The
pressure was modelled (using 5km as pressure distance -Andersen and Stock,
2012-) as function of the gross weight of goods handled in 2012 (thousands of
tonnes/Maritime transport statistics for Eurostat). In cases where there was no
quantitative information on the cargo turnover, the site was given a small value
(1000 t)
3. Shipping Lanes –ShL- from NCEAS dataset shows an estimation of the occurrence
of ships at a particular location, and therefore an estimate of the amount of
pollution they produce (via fuel leaks, oil discharge, waste disposal, etc.)
The synthetics compounds indicator is calculated based on the combination of three subindicators. The values of each sub-indicator are transformed into 1 to 5 (check table
below). The indicators, “AD”, “H” and “ShL” are then joined to develop the pressure
indicator. No weighing was set to combine both sub-indicators as this decision needs
further expertise consultation.
The resulting assessment ranges between 1 and 5 (Table 7) that are distributed in five
pressure classes (from very low to very high) as proxy to assess the pressure level on
Pan-European marine ecosystems.
𝐴𝐷 + 𝐻 + 𝑆ℎ𝐿
𝑆𝑦𝐶 =
3
Accident
density
AD
index
Harbours
effects*
H index
Shipping
lanes*
–
1
2
–
3
0
(0
4.53]
(4.53
9.05]
ShL
index
Composite
value
Pressure
classes
–
1
2
1
(1 – 2]
Very low
Low
–
3
(2 – 3]
Moderate
-thousands
of tonnes-
Low
2
Moderate
3
1
(1
3091)
(3091
9273]
1
http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/hazardous-substances-in-marine-organisms/
2
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-dangersub/pri_substances.htm#prop_2011
3
http://www.emsa.europa.eu/
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High
4
(9273 –
26271]
> 4173
4
5
(9,08
18,1]
> 18.1
-
4
(3 – 4]
High
5
(4 – 5]
Very
high
* Classification by quantile method
Table 7 Normalisation of the indicators AD, H and ShL and the calculation of the
–SyC- indicator on the level of pressure on marine ecosystems from Pollution.
Figure 5 Syc indicator showing the potential level of pollution pressure on
marine ecosystems due to introduction of synthetic compounds
Indicator 2 –Nut: Introduction of nutrients
The emissions of nutrients is one of the main cause of the sea eutrophication that even
has been defined by European Union as “the enrichment of water by nutrients, especially
nitrogen and/or phosphorus, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of
plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in
the water and to the quality of water concerned” (Anon, 1991). So, the introduction of
nutrients into sea water is a relevant factor to be taken into account during pollution
pressure assessment in marine environment.
The pressure on Marine ecosystems due to introduction of nutrient was determined by a
composite indicator from two datasets:
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1. Nutrient enrichment from coastal waste water which allows having a proxy of
nutrient introduction due to urban activities. It is the urban indicator [UN]The
pressure effects have been modelled using the urban waste water treatment
database (EEA) and the 10 km as pressure distance (Andersen and Stock, 2012).
In cases where there was no information the small value was given.
2. Nutrient input data from NCEAS which is based on fertilizers data from FAO. In
this case the agricultural activities as contamination driver has been taking into
account. It is the fertilizers indicator [FN]. In cases where there was no
information the small value was given.
𝑁𝑢𝑡 =
Nutrients
UWWTP -m≤ 3850
(3850 - 5850)
(5850- 7850)
(7885 - 8875)
> 8875
UN
index
1
2
3
4
5
𝑈𝑁 + 𝐹𝑁
2
Nutrient
inputs
from fertilizers*
1
(1 – 3)
(3 – 8]
(8 – 22]
> 22
FN
index
1
2
3
4
5
Composite
value
1
(1 – 2]
(2 – 3]
(3 – 4]
(4 – 5]
Pressure
classes
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
* Classification by quantile method
Table 8 Normalisation of the indicators UN and FN and the calculation of the Nut
indicator on the level of pressure on marine ecosystems from Pollution.
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Figure 6 Nut indicator showing the potential level of pollution pressure on
marine ecosystems due to introduction of nutrients
Composite index: Pollution
The Pollution indicator [Po_ind] is the result of the combination of the introduction of
synthetic compounds [SynC] and introduction of nutrient [Nut] indexes. The composite
index is calculated based on the combination of indicators, transforming the resulting
values as the next table indicates:
SyC
1
(1 –
(2 –
(3 –
(4 –
score
SyC index
2]
3]
4]
5]
10
20
30
40
50
Nut score
1
(1 – 2]
(2 – 3]
(3 – 4]
(4 – 5]
Nut index
Pollution index
Pressure classes
1
2
3
4
5
1,11
12, 21, 22
13,23,31,32,33
34, 41, 42, 43, 44
45, 51
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
* Classification by natural breaks method
Table 9 Normalisation of the indicators SyC and Nut and the calculation of the
Po indicator on the level of pressure on marine ecosystems from Pollution.
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Figure 7 shows the Pollution indicator showing the potential level of pressure of
pollution on marine ecosystems due to the introduction of synthetic compounds
and the introduction of nutrients
5.2.4 Invasive species
Invasive species compete against indigenous species for the same niche causing
exclusion, displacement or hybridisation with native species and, consequently, changing
the ecosystem structure and biodiversity. Therefore, alien invasions may result in
extensive changes in the structure, composition and global distribution of biota, leading
ultimately to the homogenisation of fauna and flora and the loss of biodiversity. It can
also be caused by the introduction of microbial pathogens derived from aquaculture,
shellfish farms, coastal water treatment plants or passenger ships.
The EEA is currently developing two indicators on Marine Alien Species (MAS):
1. trends in MAS (showing decadal cumulative numbers of species per MSFD region,
since the 1950´s until 2012) and
2. trends in pathways of MAS (showing total number of species per major pathway
of primary introduction, since the 1950´s to 2012).
The data comes from an extensive review of all the available online databases, as well
expert judgement based on these findings. The indicators have not yet been published
although are expected by 2014 (EEA, personal communication). It is to note that for
future work on pressures resulting from invasive species, the exploration of MAS
indicators is recommended
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In order to assess the pressures resulting from the presence of invasive species on
marine ecosystems with alternative dataset, two available and accessible data sources
were analyzed (Table 4).
The European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) facilitates the exploration of
marine alien species information, working as a repository from different sources in
Europe. It is based on inventory of the species in Europe. The EASIN expert group is
working on reviewing the data included for the quality assurance, but, at the moment,
not harmonized information to be used in our work.
The NCEAS dataset shows the global incidence of invasive species. It is not based on
inventories data (as EASIN dataset) but was modelled as a function of the amount of
cargo traffic at a port (Halpern et al. 2008). We used this dataset as input in the
assessment because is a final product which data access is easy and direct. It has been
used in others project such as ESaTDOR - European Seas and Territorial Development,
Opportunities and Risks1-. However, note that for future work the others two option,
mainly MAS indicator, would be better source data.
The proxy to assess the invasive pressure has been done ranking the number of invasive
species by 1km2 in 5 pressure classes (from very low to very high) according to the
ranges selected in ESaTDOR project for the composite environmental map (ESaTDOR,
2013; see next table).
Invasive Species
≤ 60
(60 – 120]
(120 – 180]
(180 – 240]
> 240
Invasive species index
1
2
3
4
5
Pressure classes
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
Table 10 Calculation of the indicator on the level of pressure on marine
ecosystems from invasive species.
1
http://www.espon.eu/main/Menu_Projects/Menu_AppliedResearch/ESaTDOR.html
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Figure 8 Invasive species indicator showing the potential level of this pressure
on marine ecosystems at Pan-European scale
5.2.5 Exploitation
From one side, land-based activities have a direct or indirect impact in some marine and
coastal ecosystems. Besides, several management practises taking place in the sea may
entail a negative effect on ecosystems and, in some cases, end being a pressure due to
overexploitation of natural resources. Unsustainable exploitation of resources deals with
the selective extraction of species by different: commercial and recreational fisheries, bycatches, aquaculture, shellfish farms, hunting of different species (birds, mammals, or
reptiles), illegal egg trade, poaching, etc. Other ways of marine resources exploitation
deal with energy production, resource extraction, and transport among others.
Fishing pressures in most of Europe's seas exceed sustainable levels and safe biological
limits (SBL); 30 % of Europe's commercial fish stocks are being fished beyond SBL (EEA,
2010). It is urgent to reduce the capacity of European fishing fleets to meet a balance
with available fish resources. In accordance, sustainable exploitation of fish stocks is a
target of EU policies, and in particular of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which aims
for sustainable fishing through appropriate management of fisheries within a healthy
ecosystem.
The pressure on Marine ecosystems due to exploitation was determined by a composite
indicator of four single sub-indicators:
-
Indicator 1 – fishing: Total catches are derived from different sources: Fisheries
data (FAO), International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and
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General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean (GFCM). This data is regularly
compiled in the CSI 032 indicator on Status of marine fish stocks. Here, a
reference year (2008) is taken to spatially compare the pressure of fishing at the
pan-European scale. This dataset presents some spatial gaps and some
methodological uncertainty due to data collection differences. Catch and effort
statistics are not considered to be fully reliable and much effort is directed at
estimation of corrective factors (Papaconstantinou & Farrugio, 2000).
-
Indicator 2 – aquaculture: On the recent years, aquaculture production is
gaining importance in Europe as it is rapidly increasing due to the expansion of
marine production (CSI 033). But European aquaculture is unevenly distributed,
mainly located in few countries, which are led by Norway (producing nearly 40%
of the total European production), and followed by Spain, France, Italy and the
United Kingdom. For this reason, marine aquaculture production relative to
coastline length is a better indicator of the pressure produced by this activity.
Total production statistics (in tonnes) are gathered at country level, from FAO
Fishstat plus 2010 and Eurostat database. Then the indicator is computed by
characterising production (in 2008) relative to each country coastline length (in
km) provided by the World Resources Institute. This indicator is computed by CSI
033 – Aquaculture production. In a final step, the aquaculture production per
coastal length is assigned to the corresponding country Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ). The resulting values are finally normalised.
-
Indicator 3 – energy: The main power plants and stations, those producing
more than 400MW per year, were geo-located and referenced by UAB within a
task for the EEA (ETCSIA IP2011). This dataset has been updated and enriched
with data from Open Street Map project (OSM). In particular, data from wind
power plants has been included. In general terms, pressure from energy
production is very much localised. The threshold for offshore wind farms pressure
is set to 1km for the calculation of North Sea Pressure Index (Andersen and
Stock, 2013). Considering this threshold together with the spatial resolution of the
final pressure map, a threshold of 2km is set up. The Euclidean distance has been
computed from power plants (fuelled by considered sources: nuclear, thermal or
wind) up to 2km. The pressure is inversely proportional to the distance; therefore,
a reclassify has been applied accordingly (see following table). There are some
data gaps as statistics are not available for the whole extent of analysis.
-
Indicator 4 – shipping lanes: Transport intensity by commercial shipping lanes
has been computed by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
(NCEAS). This indicator is based on the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Voluntary Observing Ships Scheme (http://www.vos.noaa.gov/vos_scheme.shtml)
compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Due to
the voluntary character of the program, the estimates are expected to be biased
to locations captured only from ships engaged in the program (Halpern et al.,
2008).
The exploitation pressure is calculated based on the combination of four sub-indicators:
[fishing], [aquaculture], [energy] and [shipping]. The values of each sub-indicator are
normalised into 1 to 5 (check table below, the break values for pressure classes need
further expertise consultation). The sub-indicators are weighted and summed to combine
the accumulated pressure related to exploitation (this decision needs further expertise
consultation). The mean value between fishing and aquaculture has been combined to
perform the sub-indicator for fisheries.
fishing + aquaculture
(
) + energy + shipping
2
𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑙 =
3
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The resulting assessment ranges between values from 0,5 to 4,66 (see next table),
which are distributed into five pressure classes (classified by jenks natural breaks), from
very low to very high, as a proxy to assess the pressure on a Pan-European scale.
Fishing
(k tonnes)
22-237
237-435
435-737
737-1405
1405-2482
Aquaculture
(t/km)
0-1
1-5
5-11
11-20
20-31
Energy
(m)
1000-2000
0-1000
Shipping
0
0 – 4.53
4.53 – 9.05
9,08 -18,1
> 18.1
Normalised
values
1
2
3
4
5
Expl
values
0,5 – 0,99
0,99 – 1,5
1,5 – 1,82
1,82 – 2,33
2,33 – 4,67
Pressure
classes
Very low
Low
Moderate
High
Very high
* Classification by natural breaks
Table 11 Normalisation of the indicators for fishing, aquaculture, energy
production and shipping transport and the calculation of the Expl indicator on
the level of pressure on marine ecosystems from Exploitation.
Figure 9 Expl indicator showing the potential level of pressure of exploitation on
marine ecosystems due to fisheries, energy production and shipping transport.
On the right, zoom to highlight resulting pressures on the North Sea (top) and
the Mediterranean Sea (bottom).
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6. MAIN OUTCOMES AND OUTLOOK
It has to be highlighted among the strengths of the proposed methodology that it is
applicable to a wide scale like the study area, in this case the pan-European scale.
Moreover, it is scalable as it has been previously applied to different regional scales (e.g.
the Baltic and North Sea by HELCOM).
This exercise has been build over a selection of the three or four more relevant
pressures on the marine environment or those with a wider and more accurate data
availability, but it can be reproduced including a wider number of single pressures
present in the study area as inputs for the composite indicator.
In this sense, the quality and availability of data is a key issue. In the present
exercise, some datasets contain spatial gaps for certain regions (e.g. statistics for
aquaculture was not available for all countries). No-data was considered as no pressure;
therefore, the result is underestimating that particular pressure in those places. To avoid
this, gap-filling can be done using ancillary data or even alternative data sets. There are
several datasets that could be used for this purpose, as already compiled in the input
datasets tables (see chapter 4). However, some constraints made it impossible to use
them here: need of deeper analysis and dataset unavailability. In some cases, some
datasets seemed promising but a deeper analysis is required to extract, analyse
and synthesize the information and to make sure that it can be used to derive the
pressure indicator. This is the case of Waterbase data from WFD containing information
of pressures on transitional and coastal water among other, highly valuable for this sort
of exercise, in particular for pollution data. The same occurs with Fisheries and
aquaculture production data from FAO. Therefore, to use this datasets more resources
are required. On the other hand, some data sources contain data on pressures that could
be used on this sort of analysis but they are publicly unavailable right now. This is
particularly interesting for some EMODNET datasets that were not downloadable at the
moment of computing the pressure indicators. In this instance, EMODNET project could
be contacted and data petitioned if, again, more resources were available to make the
contacts and a wider timeframe would be set. In any case, the EMODNET repository
should be considered in future updates of the present exercise.
A major weakness of the present methodology is current computing local incidence
pressures together with pressures estimated and assigned to a wide region. This is the
case, for instance, of trawling estimated through demersal fisheries statistics, which are
disaggregated and assigned to a country EEZ. There is a need to better refine the
allocation of those pressures over the territory. For instance, by considering the
potential distribution of a certain activity by means of suitability maps, or eliminating of
the assigned areas those places were the activity cannot take place by means of map
algebra; both based on multi-criteria analysis.
Moreover, there is a need of further research on the relation between activities
and pressures and on the assignment of weighting values. Here only negative
impacts of pressures have been considered, but some of them could bring positive
impacts for the environment or its wildlife, e. g. the presence of wind farms brings the
exclusion of fishing boats on that area (Bergström et al., 2014).
Finally, it would be highly interesting to analyse the results of the different
pressures for each sea region or at a local scale, as the current working scale
results in maps were details are hidden, in particular for those pressures that take place
locally like ports, power plants or water treatment plants.
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7. REFERENCES
Andersen, J.H., P. Axe, H. Backer, J. Carstensen, U. Claussen, V. Fleming-Lehtinen, M.
Järvinen, H. Kaartokallio, S. Knuuttila, S. Korpinen, M. Laamanen, E. Lysiak-Pastuszak,
G. Martin, F. Møhlenberg, C. Murray, G. Nausch, A. Norkko, & A. Villnäs. 2010. Getting
the measure of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea: towards improved assessment principles
and methods .Biogeochemistry. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-010-9508-4.
Andersen, J.H. & Stock, A. (eds.), Mannerla, M., Heinänen, S. & M. Vinther, M. 2013.
Human uses, pressures and impacts in the eastern North Sea. Aarhus University, DCE –
Danish Centre for Environment and Energy. 136 pp. Technical Report from DCE – Danish
Centre for Environment and Energy No. 18. http://www.dmu.dk/Pub/TR18.pdf
Anon. (1991a): Council Directive of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water
treatment (91/271/EEC). Official Journal L 135
Anon. (2000) Directive 200/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23
October2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.
Official Journal of the European Communities L327/1
Bergström, L., Kautsky, L., Malm, T., Rosenberg, R., Wahlberg, M., Åstrand Capetillo, N.,
Wilhelmsson, D., 2014. Effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife—a generalized
impact assessment. Environmental Research Letters 9, 034012. doi:10.1088/17489326/9/3/034012
Boteler, B., Grüning, M., Lago, M., Iglesias-Campos, A., Reker, J., Meiner, A. (2014)
European maritime transport and port activities: identifying policy gaps towards reducing
environmental
impacts
of
socio-economic
activities.
Ecologic
http://www.ecologic.eu/sites/files/presentation/2014/european-maritime-transport-andport-activities_0.pdf
EEA. 2010. The European Environment State and Outlook 2010: marine and coastal
environment
EEA.
2012.
Environmental
indicator
http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/environmental-indicator-report-2012
report.
Halpern BS, Walbridge S, Selkoe KA, Kappel CV, Micheli F, D’Agrosa C, Bruno JF, Casey
KS, Ebert C, Fox HE, Fujita R, Heinemann D, Lenihan HS, Madin EMP, Perry MT, Selig ER,
Spalding M, Steneck R, Watson R. 2008. A global map of human impact on marine
ecosystems. Science; 319: 948–952.
ESaTDOR (2013) European Seas and Territorial Development, Opportunities and Risks,
Scientific
Report,
ESPON
2013
Programme.
http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/AppliedResearch/ESaTDO
R/FR_160413/20130417_annexes/ESaTDOR_FR_Scientific_Report.pdf
HELCOM. 2009. Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea—an integrated thematic assessment of
eutrophication in the Baltic Sea region. Baltic Sea Environmental Proceedings No. 115B.
Helsinki Commission, 148 pp
IPCC. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2007
Jackson, J., Kirby, M, Berger, W., Bjorndal, K., Botsford, L., Bourque, B., Bradbury,
R., Cooke, R., Eriandson, J., Estes, J., Hughes, T., Kidwell, S., Lange, C., Lenihan, H.,
Pandolfi, J., Peterson, C., Steneck, R., Tegner, M. and Warner, R. 2001. Historical
overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science, 293(5530): 629–637
MA. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: A Framework for Assessment.
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Papaconstantinou, C., and Farrugio,
Mediterranean Marine Science, 1:15-18
H.
2000.
Fisheries
in
the
Mediterranean.
Zisenis, M., Mikos, V., Delbaere, B., den Herder, M., Fernández Bautista, P., Cools, J.,
Campling, P., Gobin, A. 2013. European ecosystems: knowledge on their state and
functioning. Interpreting environmental data for assessing ecosystem state and
functioning externalities
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ANNEX 1. MAJOR PRESSURES IDENTIFIED FOR EACH SEA REGION
Sea Region
Major pressures
References
Extraction of species
Andersen et al., 2010 / Korpinen et al., 2012
Contamination with nutrients and organic matter
(eutrophication)
Andersen et al., 2010 / Korpinen et al., 2012
Baltic Sea
Contamination with hazardous substances
Andersen et al., 2010 / Korpinen et al., 2012
Siltation
Andersen et al., 2010
Underwater noise
Andersen et al., 2010
Abrasion of seabed by trawling
Andersen et al., 2010 / Korpinen et al., 2012
High impact of human activities
Andersen et al., 2010
Exploitation of many fish stocks beyond sustainable Moffat et al., 2010 / Andersen and Stock,
levels
2013**
Moffat et al., 2010 / Andersen and Stock,
2013**
Large fish discards and bycatch
Abrasion and severe seabed destruction by bottom
trawling
Moffat et al., 2010
NorthEast Atlantic
Intensive shipping
Moffat et al., 2010
Intensive off-shore activities (oil and gas exploration
and wind farming)
Moffat et al., 2010
Nutrient enrichment
Andersen and Stock, 2013**
Hazardous substances
Andersen and Stock, 2013**
Coastal degradation
Fabres, 2012
Fertilizer run-off and resulting hypoxia
Micheli et al., 2013
Overfishing and destructive fishing, including bottom
trawling
Fabres, 2012
Demersal fisheries
Mediterranean
Micheli et al., 2013
Disturbance and pollution caused by fisheries,
shipping emissions (oil spills, antifoulants)
Fabres, 2012
Ship traffic
Micheli et al., 2013
Ocean acidification
Morriseau, 2014
Ocean warming
Riverine input
nutrients
Morriseau, 2014
and atmospheric
deposition of
Morriseau, 2014
Marine litter
Morriseau, 2014
Demersal fisheries
Micheli et al., 2013
Ship traffic
Micheli et al., 2013
Severe eutrophication and seabed hypoxia and algal
blooms
Oguz, 2008 / Micheli et al., 2013
Black Sea
Fish stocks and commercially valuable species
suffer from illegal fishing such as sturgeon and
turbot
Oguz, 2008
Hazardous substances in sediments and biota
Oguz, 2008
Oil spills
Oguz, 2008
* Adapted from Zisenis et al., 2013. European ecosystems: knowledge on their state and functioning externalities
** For the Easern North Sea, from Human uses, pressures and impacts in the North Sea
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