Preface
This book has resulted from joint activities of an international
group of scientists associated with the EC-COST (acronym for
"European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical
Research") action programme 48 on Aquatic Primary Biomass,
dealing particularly with marine macro algae. In the framework of
this cooperation, in an early phase the attention was directed to
the effects of human impact on the marine macrophyte resources
along the European coasts, in particular the ubiquitous and
sometimes conspicuous changes in benthic macro-vegetation as
a result of pollution and eutrophication. Consequently, one of the
COST 48 working groups was established to study especially the
macrophytic biomass production in relation to coastal eutrophication, the possibilities of removal of nutrients with the help
of marine macrophytes, and ways of making use of the plant
material produced.
In this context, at the beginning of 1994, a cooperative EC-project
EUMAC (Eutrophication - Macrophytes) was launched to investigate the dynamics and mechanisms of the impact of eutrophication
on marine benthic macrophytes in eight different locations along
the Baltic, North Sea, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
Although a lot of scattered information existed on algal
blooms in Europe, this had never been collected in a readily
available form. Therefore, during one of the working group
meetings the idea was raised of compiling a synopsis of the
existing knowledge related to the effects of eutrophication and
pollution on the marine vegetation of the coasts of Europe. The
result is this book to which 43 marine scientists from Europe and
abroad have actively contributed.
The editors wish to thank the authors of the chapters for their
efforts, the referees for their critical annotations, and the members of the COST 48 Management Committee for support of this
book project.
This book has resulted from joint activities of an international
group of scientists associated with the EC-COST (acronym for
"European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical
Research") action programme 48 on Aquatic Primary Biomass,
dealing particularly with marine macro algae. In the framework of
this cooperation, in an early phase the attention was directed to
the effects of human impact on the marine macrophyte resources
along the European coasts, in particular the ubiquitous and
sometimes conspicuous changes in benthic macro-vegetation as
a result of pollution and eutrophication. Consequently, one of the
COST 48 working groups was established to study especially the
macrophytic biomass production in relation to coastal eutrophication, the possibilities of removal of nutrients with the help
of marine macrophytes, and ways of making use of the plant
material produced.
In this context, at the beginning of 1994, a cooperative EC-project
EUMAC (Eutrophication - Macrophytes) was launched to investigate the dynamics and mechanisms of the impact of eutrophication
on marine benthic macrophytes in eight different locations along
the Baltic, North Sea, Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
Although a lot of scattered information existed on algal
blooms in Europe, this had never been collected in a readily
available form. Therefore, during one of the working group
meetings the idea was raised of compiling a synopsis of the
existing knowledge related to the effects of eutrophication and
pollution on the marine vegetation of the coasts of Europe. The
result is this book to which 43 marine scientists from Europe and
abroad have actively contributed.
The editors wish to thank the authors of the chapters for their
efforts, the referees for their critical annotations, and the members of the COST 48 Management Committee for support of this
book project.