Tools and Criteria for Sustainable Coastal Ecosystem Management: Examples from the Baltic Sea and Other Aquatic Systems

296 Pages·2008·7.01 MB·English

by  Lars Hakanson

Environmental Science and Engineering
Subseries: Environmental Science
Series Editors: R. Allan (cid:129) U. Förstner (cid:129) W. Salomons
·
L. Håkanson A.C. Bryhn
Tools and Criteria
for Sustainable Coastal
Ecosystem Management
Examples from the Baltic Sea
and Other Aquatic Systems
123
Prof.Dr.LarsHåkanson Dr.AndreasC.Bryhn
UppsalaUniversity UppsalaUniversity
Dept.EarthSciences Dept.EarthSciences
Villavägen16 Villavägen16
SE-75236Uppsala SE-75236Uppsala
Sweden Sweden
[email protected] [email protected]
ISBN:978-3-540-78361-9 e-ISBN:978-3-540-78363-3
EnvironmentalScienceandEngineeringISSN:1863-5520
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008924331
(cid:2)c 2008Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg
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Contents
Prologue .......................................................... 1
1 IntroductionandAim .......................................... 3
2 Effect-Load-SensitivityAnalyses–BasicConcepts ................. 13
3 Coastal Classifications and Key Abiotic Variables Regulating
TargetBioindicators............................................ 19
3.1 CoastalClassifications ...................................... 19
3.2 CoastalMorphometry....................................... 22
3.2.1 TopographicalOpennessorExposure ................... 25
3.2.2 SizeParameters ..................................... 32
3.2.3 FormParameters..................................... 33
3.2.4 DepthConditionsandCoastalSensitivity ................ 35
3.2.5 ASensitivityIndex(SI)BasedonMorphometricPapameters 40
3.3 WaterExchange............................................ 42
3.3.1 SurfaceandDeep-WaterExchange ..................... 42
3.3.2 Tides .............................................. 45
3.3.3 CoastalCurrents..................................... 45
3.4 Salinity ................................................... 50
3.5 WaterTemperature ......................................... 54
3.6 Summary ................................................. 58
4 NutrientsandRepresentativityofData ........................... 59
4.1 NutrientSourcesandRemedialActions........................ 59
4.2 LimitingNutrient–PhosphorusorNitrogenorBoth? ............ 63
4.3 NitrogenandPhosphorus–HotSpots ......................... 69
4.4 DataVariabilityandUncertainty–AReviewofKeyConcepts..... 70
4.4.1 BasicStatisticalQuestions ............................ 72
4.4.2 TheSamplingFormula ............................... 75
4.4.3 PatternsinVariationsforDifferentWaterVariables........ 76
v
vi Contents
4.4.4 EmpiricallyBasedHighestr2,r2 ....................... 82
e
4.4.5 HighestReferencer2,r2............................... 84
r
4.4.6 RegressionsandConfidenceIntervals ................... 85
4.4.7 FrequencyDistributionsandTransformations............. 88
4.4.8 MultipleRegressions ................................. 91
4.4.9 StabilityTests ....................................... 96
4.4.10 TheOptimalSizeofPracticallyUsefulPredictiveModels .. 98
4.4.11 VariationsandSpuriousCorrelationsRelatedtoDIN,DIP,
TN,TN,DIN/DIPandTN/TP..........................102
4.5 ShouldNitrogenorPhosphorusbeRemovedtoCombatCoastal
Eutrophication? ............................................111
4.5.1 KeyQuestions.......................................111
4.5.2 Arguments,DataandResultsProandConNandP........112
4.6 ExampleofMass-BalanceandFoodwebModelinginaTarget
EcosystemattheLocalScale.................................119
4.7 SummaryandConclusions...................................121
5 OperationalBioindicatorsforCoastalManagement................125
5.1 SecchiDepthandSuspendedParticulateMatter(SPM) ...........125
5.2 OxygenSaturationintheDeep-WaterZone(O Satin%) .........131
2
5.3 Chlorophyll-a..............................................135
5.4 Cyanobacteria .............................................140
5.5 Macrophytes ..............................................148
5.6 IndexofBiologicalValue(IBV) ..............................153
5.7 SummaryandConclusions...................................157
6 Case-Studies...................................................159
6.1 IntroductionandAim .......................................159
6.2 HowImportantareLocalNutrientEmissionstoEutrophication
inCoastalAreasComparedtoFluxesfromtheOutsideSea? ......161
6.2.1 AimoftheCase-Study................................161
6.2.2 InformationontheHimmerfja¨rdenBay..................163
6.2.3 TheDynamicCoastMab-ModelUsedintheCase-Study....167
6.2.4 Results.............................................174
6.2.5 Predicting the Dynamic Response of the System
toChangesinNutrientLoading ........................178
6.2.6 ConcludingRemarks .................................182
6.3 An Approach to Estimate Relevant Reference Values
forKeyBioindicators .......................................183
6.3.1 AimoftheCase-Study................................183
6.3.2 BasicDatafromtheGulfofRiga.......................185
6.3.3 Results.............................................190
6.3.4 Comments..........................................198
6.4 ReconstructionofEutrophicationHistory ......................199
6.4.1 AimoftheCase-Study................................199
Contents vii
6.4.2 Data from the Gulf of Finland and Information
ontheModelStructure ...............................201
6.4.3 DynamicModeling...................................204
6.4.4 ConcludingRemarks .................................221
6.5 Summary .................................................222
Epilogue ..........................................................223
References.........................................................229
Appendix..........................................................245
A.1 TheProcess-BasedMass-BalanceModel,CoastMab .............245
A.1.1 IntroductionandAim.................................245
A.1.2 DataandMethods....................................246
A.1.3 TheCoastMab-ModelforTP ..........................253
A.1.4 Results.............................................270
A.1.5 Comments..........................................281
A.2 NutrientInputfromLandUplift ..............................282
Index .............................................................285
Prologue
This book addresses sustainable coastal management with a focus on practically
useful(=operational)tools,methods,modelsandcriteriaandhowtargetsvariables
formonitoringandmanagementvaryamongandwithincoastalecosystems(atthe
ecosystem scale). The ecosystem scale is, we would argue, an important scale in
aquatic management, e.g., in contexts of impact assessment, when remedial mea-
suresarediscussedandwhenbasicquestionsareasked,e.g.:Whatisthestatusof
this ecosystem? What can be done to improve the conditions? Which positive and
negative consequences could be linked to a given or suggested remedial measure?
Fewpeoplewouldbeinterestedinthecontentofasamplingbottle;mostpeoplein
scienceandmanagementareinterestedinwhatthiscontentmayactuallyrepresent.
That is, the interest is on a larger entity, the ecosystem. But there is no contradic-
tionbetweenworkatthislargerecosystemscaleandsamplingandworkatsmaller
scales, since the mean or median values characterizing ecosystem conditions and
thestandarddeviationsinempiricaldatacharacterizingthevariabilityaroundsuch
meanvaluesofnecessitymustemanatefromsamplingatindividualsites.
The aim of this book is to address important questions related to the role a
number of operational bioindicators (such as the Secchi depth, concentrations of
chlorophyll-a and cyanobacteria, the oxygen concentration in the deep-water zone
and the macrophyte cover) and how the variability within and among coastal ar-
easofthesebioindicatorsisrelatedtodifferencesincoastalmorphometry,salinity,
temperatureandnutrientloading.Wediscussanindexofcoastalareasensitivityto
nutrient loading (eutrophication) and an index of the “biological value” of coastal
areas.Thesearecentralaspectsofcoastaleutrophicationstudiesandalsokeyques-
tionsrelatedtotheEuropeanWaterFrameworkDirective.Thereisalongtradition
inlakestudiestocarryoutcomparativeinvestigationsandlookforfactorscausing
variationsinfunctionalcharacteristicsamonglakes.Thisworkfollowsthattradition
formarinesystems.
ThisbookismainlybasedonresultsfromtheThresholds-project,anEU-project
on threats to European coastal ecosystems, coordinated by Carlos Duarte, CSIC
University, Mallorca. The aim has been to try to write a state-of-the-art book for
coastal scientists and managers with different educational backgrounds (biology,
1
2 Prologue
ecology, geosciences, oceanography, physics, chemistry, economics, etc.). Both
simple and more advanced models are used, but this volume is not a textbook in
modeling,andthereare,forexample,nodifferentialequationsintherunningtext.
Itisenoughtoknowaddition,subtraction,multiplicationanddivisiontofollowthis
text. But it is not possible to understand how coastal systems function without a
basic knowledge of the transport processes (inflow, outflow, sedimentation, resus-
pension,biouptake,etc.)thatexistinallaquaticsystemsandapplytoallsubstances.
Most of the data discussed in this book emanate from comprehensive “data-
mining”ofpublicsourcesavailableviatheInternet.Severalpersonsinourgroupat
Uppsala University have participated in the data-mining and the work to develop
and test the models and tools discussed in this work, especially Dan Lindgren,
Jenny Eklund, Julia Hytteborn, Thorsten Blenckner and Maria Stenstro¨m-Khalili.
Thisbookisalsoacompilationandreviewoftheresultsfromourgroupduringthe
last4yearsrelatedtocoastalstudies.
Chapter 1
Introduction and Aim
Duetotheimportanceandcomplexnatureofcoastalareas,itiseasytounderstand
whysomuchinterestandresearchconcernthiszone.Thecoastisazoneofconflicts
wheremanyusers,suchasprofessionalandleisure-timefishermen,peoplerespon-
sible for recreation, shipping and environmental management and research, place
differentdemandsonthecoastalwatersandapplydifferentcriteriatosetthevalue
ofcoastalwatersandtodefinedesiredconditions(Wallinetal.1992;Lundin1999,
2000a,b;Wulffetal.2001a).Thecoastalzoneisalsoa“recipient”ofmanytypes
of pollutants, such as organic matter, radionuclides, nutrients and organic toxins
(PearsonandRosenberg1976;Ambio1990,2007;Meeuwigetal.2000;Aertbjerg
2001). The coast may be regarded as “a pantry and a nursery” for the sea. It has
beendemonstratedthatshallowcoastalareascanhaveabioproductionmanytimes
higher than the most productive areas on land (see Chap. 5 and Rosenberg 1985).
All three functional groups of primary producers – phytoplankton, benthic algae
andmacrophytes–arepresentincoastalareas(butnotinopenwaterareas).Where
thereisahighprimaryproduction,thereisalsoahighsecondaryproductionofzoo-
plankton, zoobenthos and fish (Mann 1982; Sandberg et al. 2000; Ha˚kanson and
Boulion2002).
One purpose of this book is to discuss and review a set of operational bioindi-
cators for coastal management (see Moldan and Billharz 1997; Livingston 2001;
Bortone2005)mainlyintermsofeutrophicationandtoillustratehowthesebioindi-
catorsrelatetooneanotherandexpressfundamentalstructuralandfunctionalprop-
ertiesofcoastalecosystems.Fromtheperspectiveoftheecosystemscale,relatively
little research has been devoted to the important but complex problem of devel-
oping practically useful bioindicators of ecosystem status, thresholds and regime
shifts(seeCarpenter2003).Since1987,manycountrieshaveaccepted“sustainable
management” as a goal for environmental and economic policy. The term was in-
troduced in the final report of the Commission for Environment and Development
(the Brundtland Commission). However, this phrase is empty unless it is defined
in terms of operationally measurable properties, desired goals and relevant data
(Bailey et al. 1985). There are alternatives to choosing the ecosystem as the ba-
sis for the environmental typology (see, e.g., O’Neill et al. 1982; Cairns and Pratt
3