17 Seascape Integrity Assessment: A Proposed Index for the Mediterranean Coast
265
bottoms is enhanced by habitat ‘formers’, defined as ‘those species that characterize
a habitat’ which provide additional resources such as physical refuge and food items
to target species (Garcia-Charton et al. 2000). Moreover, marine rocky habitats commonly exhibit complex spatial patterns that can be viewed, at any scale, as mosaics
of interacting patches (e.g. organisms) (Garrabou et al. 1998).
A better understanding of faunal-seascape relationships, including the identifications of threshold effects, is then urgently needed to support the development of
more effective and holistic management actions in restoration, site prioritization, and
forecasting the impacts of environmental change (Boström et al. 2011). The lack of
knowledge on seascape patterns and their ecological consequences represents both a
major void in our understanding of marine and coastal ecology and an exciting new
frontier for research (Pittman et al. 2011).
The European Water Framework Directive or WFD (2000/60/EC Council Directive 23th October 2000) imposes the assessment of the European water quality and
establishment of management plans for those waters. Several water quality indices
have been developed to fulfil this obligation of water quality evaluation (e.g. Ballesteros et al. 2007). The Marine Strategy Framework Directive UE (2008/56/EC of
the European Parliament and the Council Directive of 17 June 2008) extended the
principles of quality assessment to several components of the marine environment
with the overall aim of promoting sustainable use of the seas and conserving marine
ecosystems. The Member States are mandated to make an analysis of the essential
features and characteristics and current environmental status of those waters based
on an indicative list of elements that cover physical and chemical features, habitat
types, biological features and hydro-morphology. In particular, one of the qualitative
descriptors for determining good environmental status is the “sea-floor integrity”
which has to be “at a level that ensures that the structure and functions of the ecosystems are safeguarded and benthic ecosystems are not adversely affected” (Official
Journal of the European Union, 25.6.2008).
The aim of this paper is to propose a relevant seascape index focusing on Mediterranean littoral areas. A first study was carried out in 2002 in Languedoc-Roussillon
(French Mediterranean north-western coast, France), at the request of the Rhˆ oneMéditerranée-Corse Basin Agency, to implement a landscape index specifically
devoted to rocky substrates (Créocean 2002). The aim was to obtain better knowledge of the regional seascapes, and to develop a new tool that can qualitatively assess
the seascape integrity. In 2008, this experiment was extended to the Provence-AlpesCˆ ote d’Azur Region (Créocean 2009) using an adapted index incorporating both the
geomorphologic and biological specificities of this region. The goal was not to make
a simple inventory of the various seascapes of the PACA Region and to characterize
their value, but to build a functional and relevant tool that could eventually be used for
a large scale geographical analysis of submarine landscapes along the north-western
Mediterranean coast. We present here the tool developed to score marine sites and
assess their seascape integrity.
265
bottoms is enhanced by habitat ‘formers’, defined as ‘those species that characterize
a habitat’ which provide additional resources such as physical refuge and food items
to target species (Garcia-Charton et al. 2000). Moreover, marine rocky habitats commonly exhibit complex spatial patterns that can be viewed, at any scale, as mosaics
of interacting patches (e.g. organisms) (Garrabou et al. 1998).
A better understanding of faunal-seascape relationships, including the identifications of threshold effects, is then urgently needed to support the development of
more effective and holistic management actions in restoration, site prioritization, and
forecasting the impacts of environmental change (Boström et al. 2011). The lack of
knowledge on seascape patterns and their ecological consequences represents both a
major void in our understanding of marine and coastal ecology and an exciting new
frontier for research (Pittman et al. 2011).
The European Water Framework Directive or WFD (2000/60/EC Council Directive 23th October 2000) imposes the assessment of the European water quality and
establishment of management plans for those waters. Several water quality indices
have been developed to fulfil this obligation of water quality evaluation (e.g. Ballesteros et al. 2007). The Marine Strategy Framework Directive UE (2008/56/EC of
the European Parliament and the Council Directive of 17 June 2008) extended the
principles of quality assessment to several components of the marine environment
with the overall aim of promoting sustainable use of the seas and conserving marine
ecosystems. The Member States are mandated to make an analysis of the essential
features and characteristics and current environmental status of those waters based
on an indicative list of elements that cover physical and chemical features, habitat
types, biological features and hydro-morphology. In particular, one of the qualitative
descriptors for determining good environmental status is the “sea-floor integrity”
which has to be “at a level that ensures that the structure and functions of the ecosystems are safeguarded and benthic ecosystems are not adversely affected” (Official
Journal of the European Union, 25.6.2008).
The aim of this paper is to propose a relevant seascape index focusing on Mediterranean littoral areas. A first study was carried out in 2002 in Languedoc-Roussillon
(French Mediterranean north-western coast, France), at the request of the Rhˆ oneMéditerranée-Corse Basin Agency, to implement a landscape index specifically
devoted to rocky substrates (Créocean 2002). The aim was to obtain better knowledge of the regional seascapes, and to develop a new tool that can qualitatively assess
the seascape integrity. In 2008, this experiment was extended to the Provence-AlpesCˆ ote d’Azur Region (Créocean 2009) using an adapted index incorporating both the
geomorphologic and biological specificities of this region. The goal was not to make
a simple inventory of the various seascapes of the PACA Region and to characterize
their value, but to build a functional and relevant tool that could eventually be used for
a large scale geographical analysis of submarine landscapes along the north-western
Mediterranean coast. We present here the tool developed to score marine sites and
assess their seascape integrity.