Quantification of Coastal Ecosystem Resilience

Marine coastal ecosystems are rapidly and profoundly changing under the influence of natural and human pressures. Around this new scenario, the concept of resilience has become a main concern for conserving coastal ecosystems. Assessing resilience of marine ecosystems, through a profound knowledge of the history and the proprieties of the systems and the application of the ecohydrology principles, is essential for sustaining their resilience and, thus, for preserving their ability to cope with global changes. In this chapter, we critically review the various definitions of disturbance and stress and propose the novel term ‘affector’ for describing any external agent potentially capable to alter the structure of ecosystems. We review the role of affectors in the ecosystems’ dynamics, also discussing the concepts of equilibrium and stability. We define resilience, review the most important metrics and indicators proposed in the up-to-date literature for measuring resilience, and propose a schematic procedure for its assessment.