Abstract
A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping.
Highlights
To comply with the considered concepts, the study area includes, besides the Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon: i) the ecological structures considered complementary to the lagoon – e.g., the coastal strip between Furadouro and Praia de Mira and the lagoon’s margins, responsible for its shape; and the Pateira de Fermentelos freshwater lake, an important wetland from the conservation point of view; and ii) the connective structures – e.g., rivers that flow into the lagoon, riparian corridors, and agricultural fields between the lagoon and the Pateira de Fermentelos, which are components of the landscape that can facilitate the biological flows, i.e., which provide important functional connectivity
The proposed framework proved to be suitable for addressing ecosystem services (ES) in complex coastal regions
Exploring the application of CICES and an ES mapping approach based on qualitative indicators to Ria de Aveiro coastal region allowed the identification of a number of pertinent issues
Summary
Having Ria de Aveiro coastal region as a show case, the main objectives of this paper are: i) to define the exact geographic boundaries of a complex coastal region; ii) to identify and classify the ES provided; and iii) to map the ES provided by a complex coastal region In this context, the criteria used to define the case study boundaries, as it involves different ecosystem typologies and a complex governance framework are discussed; the provided ES are identified; and the most suitable indicators that will serve as basis to map the ES provided are defined (Fig. 1). It aims to contribute to the discussion on ES classification and mapping at regional scale
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