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Land
Special Issues
Ecological and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Coastal Areas
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Ecological and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Coastal Areas

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Landscape Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 3633

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mita Drius

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, I-39042 Bressanone, BZ, Italy
Interests: science education; ecosystem services; green infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Maria Laura Carranza

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Envix-Lab, Department of Bioscience and Territory, University of Molise, 86090 Pesche, IS, Italy
Interests: landscape ecology; remote sensing; conservation biology; long term ecological monitoring; ecosystem services; biological invasions; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Robert Philipp Wagensommer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, 39042 Brixen-Bressanone, Italy
Interests: conservation; plants; red listing; threatened species; vascular flora; vegetation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal areas can offer manifold benefits coming from regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, ranging from carbon sequestration to protection from coastal erosion, and from recreation to ecotourism. They also host a unique biodiversity which comprises endangered species in need of proper conservation measures. These and other properties make them very interesting sources for educational and training purposes.

Finding trade-offs for a balanced and sustainable management of coastal areas requires interdisciplinary approaches that combine ecological, economic, and governance-related aspects. Moreover, cultural ecosystem service education shall be integrated in the abovementioned approach, being a valuable enabling factor in changing the way coastal areas can be perceived and valued.

Within this framework, for this Special Issue on “Ecological and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Coastal Areas” we encourage authors to submit a wide range of interdisciplinary contributions, case studies, and methodological and applied research related to the following topics:

  • Analysis of coastal landscape and ecosystem services;
  • Spatial planning of coastal landscapes;
  • Integrated management balancing coastal habitats conservation and utilization;
  • Evaluation of threats affecting coastal plant species and habitats;
  • Cultural services of coastal habitats, including education;
  • Economic valuation of coastal ecosystem services;
  • Socio-ecological approaches to coastal conservation and management.

Dr. Mita Drius
Prof. Maria Laura Carranza
Prof. Dr. Robert Philipp Wagensommer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coastal ecosystem services
  • coastal ecosystem conservation
  • cultural ecosystem services
  • coastal biodiversity conservation
  • coastal integrated management
  • threatened coastal plant species
  • socio-ecological approach

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

34 pages, 7984 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Coastal Cultural Ecosystem Services and Well-Being for Integrating Stakeholder Values into Coastal Planning
by Kristina Veidemane, Agnese Reke, Anda Ruskule and Ivo Vinogradovs
Land 2024, 13(3), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030362 - 13 Mar 2024
Viewed by 815
Abstract
Coastal areas provide ecosystem services (ES), including a wide range of cultural ecosystem services (CES). This study aims to operationalize the ES approach for integrated assessment and mapping of coastal CES through the case of the eastern Baltic Sea coast in Latvia. It [...] Read more.
Coastal areas provide ecosystem services (ES), including a wide range of cultural ecosystem services (CES). This study aims to operationalize the ES approach for integrated assessment and mapping of coastal CES through the case of the eastern Baltic Sea coast in Latvia. It explores an interdisciplinary approach to enhance coastal planning, leveraging the strengths of plural disciplines to ensure a more holistic representation of coastal CES. A set of methods and techniques from landscape ecology (e.g., landscape characterization, quality assessment, biophysical mapping) and social sciences (participatory GIS, stakeholder engagement events, nationwide survey) are developed and tested, particularly demonstrating links and correlations between landscape character and CES values and well-being dimensions. The results illuminate the main perceived well-being benefits that people gain from the coastal areas, highlighting the different perspectives of stakeholders. Finally, the integrated assessment results helped to construct proposals for sustainable tourism development in the area. The outcomes of the study are intended to assist planners and decision-makers in evaluating the potential for development and trade-offs in coastal regions. This research contributes to the advancement of coastal spatial planning methodologies, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement and ES assessment for informed decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Coastal Areas)
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30 pages, 5531 KiB  
Article
The Role of Vegetation Monitoring in the Conservation of Coastal Habitats N2000: A Case Study of a Wetland Area in Southeast Sicily (Italy)
by Saverio Sciandrello, Veronica Ranno and Valeria Tomaselli
Land 2024, 13(1), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010062 - 04 Jan 2024
Viewed by 900
Abstract
The coastal wetlands are among the most vulnerable and threatened environments of the Mediterranean area. Targeted actions for their conservation require in-depth knowledge of current and past natural vegetation. In this paper, we surveyed the vegetation composition and the spatio-temporal changes of a [...] Read more.
The coastal wetlands are among the most vulnerable and threatened environments of the Mediterranean area. Targeted actions for their conservation require in-depth knowledge of current and past natural vegetation. In this paper, we surveyed the vegetation composition and the spatio-temporal changes of a coastal wetland area in southeastern Sicily (“Saline di Priolo” SAC). Based on 128 phytosociological surveys and several plant collections, a total of 304 taxa, 28 plant communities, and 16 habitats have been identified. Furthermore, three new plant associations were described, including two in wetland and one in rocky coast environments. For the classification of plant communities and habitats, a hierarchical clustering was performed by using Euclidean coefficient and beta-flexible algorithm. The life form spectrum of the current flora highlights the dominance of therophytes and hemicryptophytes. The Mediterranean species are largely prevailing with 123 taxa. The cartographic analysis performed with ArcGis 10.3 shows a radical reduction in the wetland habitats in the last 70 years, and a strong alteration of the ecological succession of the psammophilous-hygrophilous vegetation. Moreover, landscape configuration of the coastal vegetation and habitat types was well highlighted by a set of specific landscape metrics. In particular, our outcomes identify three habitats (2110, 2210, and 5220* EU code) with bad conservation status, among which we identified one of priority conservation (Zyziphus arborescent matorral) that requires urgent restoration measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Coastal Areas)
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20 pages, 3580 KiB  
Article
Coastal Biodiversity Assessment Aided by Citizen Science Volunteers: A Look at the Italian Central Adriatic
by Federica Compagnone, Marco Varricchione, Michele Innangi, Mirko Di Febbraro, Anna Loy, Angela Stanisci, Maria Carla de Francesco, Giorgio Matteucci and Maria Laura Carranza
Land 2023, 12(11), 2023; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112023 - 06 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1083
Abstract
Coastal ecosystems, encompassing land and marine environments and hosting substantial biodiversity, are among the most threatened worldwide. The European Habitats Directive prioritises coastal habitats and species, requiring legislative, direct protection, monitoring, and informational measures. Accurate habitat and species monitoring is crucial to conservation [...] Read more.
Coastal ecosystems, encompassing land and marine environments and hosting substantial biodiversity, are among the most threatened worldwide. The European Habitats Directive prioritises coastal habitats and species, requiring legislative, direct protection, monitoring, and informational measures. Accurate habitat and species monitoring is crucial to conservation efforts, yet biodiversity research in complex, ever-changing environments like coastal areas is difficult. Citizen Science may bridge biodiversity assessment and eco-friendly monitoring by incorporating non-scientists into the data collection for scientists and stakeholders. A Citizen Science approach supported by a dedicated iNaturalist project (called Wild Coast CASCADE) was implemented to obtain a complete monitoring framework that includes observations of many taxa in terrestrial, aquatic, and transitional dynamic coastal environments in the Central Italian Adriatic coast. We explored data gathered focusing on the IUCN Red List species, the species and habitats of European conservation concern, and the non-native species. Between 2020 and 2023, we collected 3784 records covering 742 species, with 81% meeting the “research grade criteria”, and these were retained for subsequent research. Citizen Science volunteers have collected 291 georeferenced animal records from the global IUCN Red List, 51 plant species from 14 species that are indicators of the presence of habitats of European Conservation Concern, and 44 non-native plants and animals. Our results provide evidence that citizen research projects can effectively assist in monitoring coastal–marine habitats and species. They also underline the potential of Citizen Science for biodiversity conservation and emphasize the importance of public engagement in conservation efforts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Cultural Ecosystem Services in Coastal Areas)
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