CLSER: A new indicator for the social-ecological resilience of coastal systems and sustainable management

Abstract

The coastal system is a highly active and productive social-ecological system (SES) facing significant challenges from human activities. However, understanding the resilience of this complex system is limited due to conflicting effects of local infrastructure development and regional ecosystem degradation with high spatial precision. This study proposes a holistic indicator, coastal landscape social-ecological resilience (CLSER), to evaluate the historical changes in social-ecological resilience in Fujian's coastal zone over the past two decades. The CLSER considers trade-offs between ecosystems, social systems, and production systems, the subsystems with conflicted interests, providing a comprehensive perspective of integrated land and sea planning at a fine spatial resolution. Results reveal spatial variation in CLSER within Fujian's coastal zone, with poorer conditions (i.e., class I and II) in developed urban areas and better conditions (i.e., class IV and V) in vegetated regions. From 2000 to 2010, CLSER experienced a significant decline, primarily driven by coastal habitat degradation due to extensive land reclamation and shoreline solidification. While there was a slight increase in CLSER from 2010 to 2020 due to the improvement of coastal infrastructure, it did not fully compensate for the overall loss in CLSER. Consequently, Fujian's coastal zone exhibits a more fragile social-ecological system under rapid urbanization, with increasing solid shorelines. The proposed indicator effectively reflects the general resilience of a coastal SES to external disturbances and suggests management strategies for promoting sustainable development in the coastal zone.