Opportunities to Restore and Protect Coastal Ecosystems with Enhanced Interdisciplinary Management - The Mediterranean Model.

Abstract

Coastal zone ecosystems’ global importance is the primary driver of the wide scientific efforts for their restoration and protection. Over the past three decades, there has been a growing global momentum in the pursuit of initiatives aimed at conserving nature. Regardless of the wide scientific interest, and despite the notable exposure of these ecosystems to degradation and deterioration, numerous habitats, and species, in Europe, have 'vulnerable', or 'near threatened' conservation status. Even in the most favourable circumstances, factors including strong human pressure, urbanization and agriculture, and climate change, exhilarate the current, already, negative trends indicators, related to biodiversity and their associated ecosystem functions and services provision. This project proposes a set of existing and emerging methodologies and solutions for the restoration, conservation, and management practices, which are crucial to improving these profoundly delicate ecosystems in the Mediterranean and similar environmental contexts. Traditional and innovative ecological restoration solutions have been designed and applied in two such areas along the Greek and Italian coasts, ‘Nestos Delta’ and ‘Bosco di Palo Laziale’, respectively, to improve the conservation status of 'Pannonian-Balkanic turkey oak-sessile oak forests' (habitat 91M0), ‘Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior’ (habitat 91E0), and 'Mediterranean temporary ponds' (*3170) that have been increasingly exposed to climate change and inappropriate forest and water management. Analogous, ecological restoration practices include selective trimming of encroaching shrub vegetation (and alien invasive shrubs in the Nestos area), remote-controlled irrigation system, origin-controlled and pathogen-free forestry nursery, ex-situ micro-propagation and in-situ reinforcement of keystone plant populations. An in-depth assessment and quantification of abiotic and biotic factors of the sites' ecosystems were preliminarily conducted to tailor these interventions to the habitats' geo-morphological, climatic, pedological, and physiological conditions. The EU project LIFE PRIMED (LIFE17 NAT/GR/000511), operates at the Delta of River Nestos in Greece, and the Forest of Palo Laziale in Italy. The results in both areas, thus far, have demonstrated that the collaborative development of innovative water harvesting systems, coupled with adaptation measures, has the potential to enhance water resilience in already degraded forest ecosystems. To date, the project has successfully tackled the effects of escalating irregular rainfall patterns on Mediterranean coastal habitats by implementing a hydraulic system and a wellpoint-based water distribution network in Palo Laziale and Nestos Delta, respectively. Monospecific approaches for climate and human-related phenomena, such as extreme weather events and agriculture pressure, are disfavoured. Therefore, the LIFE PRIMED project, comprised of an interdisciplinary team of Botanists, Zoologists, Foresters, and Environmental Engineers, has developed and delivered Nature-based transnational, ecosystem-oriented holistic solutions that will have the potential to be replicable and transferable with the greatest aim to recover dysfunctional, poorly managed coastal forest areas, across the Mediterranean region.