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Seascape Integrity Assessment: A Proposed Index for the Mediterranean Coast.
- Source :
- Underwater Seascapes; 2014, p263-275, 13p
- Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- Landscape ecology is a multidisciplinary field that combines the spatial approach of geography with functional ecology. Concerning marine environment, a submerged landscape, called seascape, is defined as a spatially heterogeneous area of coastal environment (i.e. intertidal, brackish). Measurement of spatial patterns plays a central role in monitoring environmental change and for studying the multi-scale processes that drive organism distributions and biodiversity. The aim of this paper is to propose a relevant seascape index focusing on Mediterranean littoral areas, moreover rocky habitat that constitutes one of the most important and characteristic habitats of the north-western Mediterranean coastal areas. The methodology proposed to score marine sites addresses three factors: biological, geomorphologic (i.e. 3D complexity) and anthropogenic. The goal was 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. The proposed index can qualitatively assess the value of the seascape within a site. Statistical tests showed that the proposed index is an accurate and relevant proxy of the seascape complexity value. The seascape integrity index we developed can then be a new tool that could complement other existing biological indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISBNs :
- 9783319034393
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Underwater Seascapes
- Publication Type :
- Book
- Accession number :
- 95555888
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03440-9_17