15.6 How to Preserve Coastal Habitats in the Future?
It could be concluded from this study that sea level rise is a serious threat to coastal
wetlands in the Northern Adriatic. It revealed that the spatial distribution of habitat
types follows the micro-elevations and therefore a habitat transition model could be
developed. The prediction model demonstrated to which degree, how and where
coastal habitats will shift to each other and decrease their surfaces in total. It was
summarised already by Nicholls et al. (1999) that there is need to start strategic
planning of appropriate responses immediately in order to prevent the wetland loss.
The countermeasures should take three directions, depending on the natural features of each area.
Where there is a shallow sedimentary coast, the creation of artificial islets at
desired micro-elevations, suited to specific habitat types is possible. In such areas,
artificial islets, fitted within natural bays of lagoons, would function in a completely
natural manner. The islets should be carefully levelled to a certain micro-elevation
and consolidated at the edges with wooden kerbs. This method has already proven
to be efficient in the renaturation of S ˇ kocjan Inlet. In some cases the coastal habitats
are shaped geometrically, developed in artificial man-made structures (abandoned
ports, coastlines, Salinas etc.). In such cases the artificial islets can also consist of
rectangular or any other regularly-shaped structure.
The second possibility is only appropriate where there is enough space in the
buffer zone of coastal wetlands: if the shore is not too steep, we simply wait for the
effects of sea level rise (waves, elevated salinity and moisture) to reach the higher
zones, where new halophyte habitats will be established. This process could also be
facilitated by removing the ruderal vegetation and preparing the suitable elevation.
The third possibility is only applicable in rare cases, where it is possible to
regulate the sea level in areas with targeted habitats, using artificial sea barriers.
This is already partially possible in the Sec ˇovlje salina area: to some internal
sections not directly connected with the open seawater, the influx of water comes
through channels that are artificially regulated. However, because the surface in the
Sec ˇovlje salina covered with Natura 2000 habitats is already minimal, we suggest
also creating artificial rectangular islets inside the largest salt-pans (water
reservoirs).
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Baustian, J. J., Mendelssohn, I. A., & Hester, M. W. (2012). Vegetation’s importance in regulating
surface elevation in a coastal salt marsh facing elevated rates of sea level rise. Global Change
Biology, 18, 3377–3382.
15 Habitat Changes Caused by Sea Level Rise, Driven by Climate Change in the. . .
241
It could be concluded from this study that sea level rise is a serious threat to coastal
wetlands in the Northern Adriatic. It revealed that the spatial distribution of habitat
types follows the micro-elevations and therefore a habitat transition model could be
developed. The prediction model demonstrated to which degree, how and where
coastal habitats will shift to each other and decrease their surfaces in total. It was
summarised already by Nicholls et al. (1999) that there is need to start strategic
planning of appropriate responses immediately in order to prevent the wetland loss.
The countermeasures should take three directions, depending on the natural features of each area.
Where there is a shallow sedimentary coast, the creation of artificial islets at
desired micro-elevations, suited to specific habitat types is possible. In such areas,
artificial islets, fitted within natural bays of lagoons, would function in a completely
natural manner. The islets should be carefully levelled to a certain micro-elevation
and consolidated at the edges with wooden kerbs. This method has already proven
to be efficient in the renaturation of S ˇ kocjan Inlet. In some cases the coastal habitats
are shaped geometrically, developed in artificial man-made structures (abandoned
ports, coastlines, Salinas etc.). In such cases the artificial islets can also consist of
rectangular or any other regularly-shaped structure.
The second possibility is only appropriate where there is enough space in the
buffer zone of coastal wetlands: if the shore is not too steep, we simply wait for the
effects of sea level rise (waves, elevated salinity and moisture) to reach the higher
zones, where new halophyte habitats will be established. This process could also be
facilitated by removing the ruderal vegetation and preparing the suitable elevation.
The third possibility is only applicable in rare cases, where it is possible to
regulate the sea level in areas with targeted habitats, using artificial sea barriers.
This is already partially possible in the Sec ˇovlje salina area: to some internal
sections not directly connected with the open seawater, the influx of water comes
through channels that are artificially regulated. However, because the surface in the
Sec ˇovlje salina covered with Natura 2000 habitats is already minimal, we suggest
also creating artificial rectangular islets inside the largest salt-pans (water
reservoirs).
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Baustian, J. J., Mendelssohn, I. A., & Hester, M. W. (2012). Vegetation’s importance in regulating
surface elevation in a coastal salt marsh facing elevated rates of sea level rise. Global Change
Biology, 18, 3377–3382.
15 Habitat Changes Caused by Sea Level Rise, Driven by Climate Change in the. . .
241