The Southern Baltic Sea and its coast in transition

Abstract

This special feature is based on results of an interdisciplinary priority program of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) called “die sudliche Ostsee und ihre Kuste im Wandel” (the Southern Baltic Sean and its coast in transition). The Baltic Sea is the world’s largest brackish-water body (area 415.00 km 2 , volume ca. 22.000 km 3 ). The long coast-line (20.000 km) is shared by 9 nations, with 70 millions inhabitants in the coastal zone and 100 millions inhabitants in the hydrological catchment region. As a geologically young and relatively shallow sea-basin, the Baltic Sea is an area of rapid environmental change. It is characterised by pronounced environmental gradients and a pronounced importance of the sea-land interface for the functioning of the entire Baltic Sea system. The density of human settlement, particularly along the southern coast, and the almost enclosed basin of the Baltic Sea make it particularly sensitive to anthropogenic impact and changes in human utilisation of the sea, its coast and its catchment. In addition to the usual, more gradual changes of human impact along the northern Baltic coast, the southern Baltic coast and its catchment have witnessed the collapse of the socialist economic system with its associated rapid economic transitions. Our main study region, the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (the coastal state in eastern Germany) may serve as a paradigmatic example with its transition from an economy dominated by industry and agriculture to an economy dominated by tourism. Understanding the ecosystem consequences of such changes, predicting future trends and developing strategies for sustainable use requires research across a wide range of time-scales, from the geological scale (coastal