Centre of Marine Sciences of Algarve (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal.
Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark.
Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 26;10(1):3356. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11340-4.
Seagrass meadows, key ecosystems supporting fisheries, carbon sequestration and coastal protection, are globally threatened. In Europe, loss and recovery of seagrasses are reported, but the changes in extent and density at the continental scale remain unclear. Here we collate assessments of changes from 1869 to 2016 and show that 1/3 of European seagrass area was lost due to disease, deteriorated water quality, and coastal development, with losses peaking in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, loss rates slowed down for most of the species and fast-growing species recovered in some locations, making the net rate of change in seagrass area experience a reversal in the 2000s, while density metrics improved or remained stable in most sites. Our results demonstrate that decline is not the generalised state among seagrasses nowadays in Europe, in contrast with global assessments, and that deceleration and reversal of declining trends is possible, expectingly bringing back the services they provide.
海草床是支持渔业、碳封存和海岸保护的重要生态系统，但在全球范围内受到威胁。在欧洲，已经有报道称海草床在减少和恢复，但在大陆尺度上的范围和密度变化仍不清楚。在这里，我们整理了 1869 年至 2016 年的变化评估，结果表明，由于疾病、水质恶化和海岸开发，1/3 的欧洲海草床面积已经消失，损失高峰期出现在 20 世纪 70 年代和 80 年代。自那时以来，大多数物种的损失率已经放缓，一些地区的快速生长物种已经恢复，因此，海草床面积的净变化率在 21 世纪出现了逆转，而大多数地点的密度指标则有所改善或保持稳定。我们的研究结果表明，与全球评估相反，如今在欧洲，衰退并不是海草的普遍状态，而且衰退趋势的减缓甚至逆转是有可能的，可以期待它们重新提供相关服务。
