Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series
Seagrass meadows are monitored in the frame of several environmental programs worldwide, including the Water Framework Directive (WFD), to evaluate the ecological status of European coastal and transitional water bodies. The large size, spatial complexity, and interannual variability of seagrass eco...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d2dfb4abdde6474b81be90d486aa2b7e 2023-05-15T17:35:39+02:00 Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series Maria Laura Zoffoli Pierre Gernez Laurent Godet Steef Peters Simon Oiry Laurent Barillé 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108033 https://doaj.org/article/d2dfb4abdde6474b81be90d486aa2b7e EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21006981 https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160X 1470-160X doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108033 https://doaj.org/article/d2dfb4abdde6474b81be90d486aa2b7e Ecological Indicators, Vol 130, Iss , Pp 108033- (2021) Water Framework Directive Interannual variability Ecosystem monitoring Earth Observation Recovery Zostera noltei Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108033 2022-12-31T07:54:36Z Seagrass meadows are monitored in the frame of several environmental programs worldwide, including the Water Framework Directive (WFD), to evaluate the ecological status of European coastal and transitional water bodies. The large size, spatial complexity, and interannual variability of seagrass ecosystems significantly challenge field monitoring. In this study, a multi-mission satellite time-series was used to estimate long-term changes in seagrass status in a macrotidal system dominated by Zostera noltei, at Bourgneuf Bay (French Atlantic coast). Metrics of seagrass extent and density were obtained from Earth Observation (EO) using validated and inter-calibrated Landsat, SPOT and Sentinel2 data from 1985 to 2020. The information provided by satellite data made it possible to compute and compare several seagrass indicators currently in use in several European countries (France, Portugal and UK) within the WFD. Both the seagrass extent and meadow-averaged density displayed increasing trends since 1985. A time-series of merged observations from various satellites revealed a high degree of interannual variability in seagrass extent, with abrupt losses (up to 50% within one year) alternating with periods of slow recovery (typically 4–6 years). The seagrass meadow which was in a moderate status (sensu the WFD) in the 1980s, achieved an overall recurrent good or high status since the mid-1990s. Altogether, the methods and results presented here demonstrated that EO is a reliable source of information for mapping and assessing the status of intertidal seagrass, complementing in situ measurements by providing long-term, spatial view and standardized observation framework. We recommend the systematic use of EO time-series in complement to traditional field measurements in seagrass monitoring programs such as the WFD. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ecological Indicators 130 108033 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Water Framework Directive Interannual variability Ecosystem monitoring Earth Observation Recovery Zostera noltei Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Water Framework Directive Interannual variability Ecosystem monitoring Earth Observation Recovery Zostera noltei Ecology QH540-549.5 Maria Laura Zoffoli Pierre Gernez Laurent Godet Steef Peters Simon Oiry Laurent Barillé Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
topic_facet |
Water Framework Directive Interannual variability Ecosystem monitoring Earth Observation Recovery Zostera noltei Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Seagrass meadows are monitored in the frame of several environmental programs worldwide, including the Water Framework Directive (WFD), to evaluate the ecological status of European coastal and transitional water bodies. The large size, spatial complexity, and interannual variability of seagrass ecosystems significantly challenge field monitoring. In this study, a multi-mission satellite time-series was used to estimate long-term changes in seagrass status in a macrotidal system dominated by Zostera noltei, at Bourgneuf Bay (French Atlantic coast). Metrics of seagrass extent and density were obtained from Earth Observation (EO) using validated and inter-calibrated Landsat, SPOT and Sentinel2 data from 1985 to 2020. The information provided by satellite data made it possible to compute and compare several seagrass indicators currently in use in several European countries (France, Portugal and UK) within the WFD. Both the seagrass extent and meadow-averaged density displayed increasing trends since 1985. A time-series of merged observations from various satellites revealed a high degree of interannual variability in seagrass extent, with abrupt losses (up to 50% within one year) alternating with periods of slow recovery (typically 4–6 years). The seagrass meadow which was in a moderate status (sensu the WFD) in the 1980s, achieved an overall recurrent good or high status since the mid-1990s. Altogether, the methods and results presented here demonstrated that EO is a reliable source of information for mapping and assessing the status of intertidal seagrass, complementing in situ measurements by providing long-term, spatial view and standardized observation framework. We recommend the systematic use of EO time-series in complement to traditional field measurements in seagrass monitoring programs such as the WFD. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Maria Laura Zoffoli Pierre Gernez Laurent Godet Steef Peters Simon Oiry Laurent Barillé |
author_facet |
Maria Laura Zoffoli Pierre Gernez Laurent Godet Steef Peters Simon Oiry Laurent Barillé |
author_sort |
Maria Laura Zoffoli |
title |
Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
title_short |
Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
title_full |
Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
title_fullStr |
Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
title_full_unstemmed |
Decadal increase in the ecological status of a North-Atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
title_sort |
decadal increase in the ecological status of a north-atlantic intertidal seagrass meadow observed with multi-mission satellite time-series |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108033 https://doaj.org/article/d2dfb4abdde6474b81be90d486aa2b7e |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Ecological Indicators, Vol 130, Iss , Pp 108033- (2021) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21006981 https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160X 1470-160X doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108033 https://doaj.org/article/d2dfb4abdde6474b81be90d486aa2b7e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108033 |
container_title |
Ecological Indicators |
container_volume |
130 |
container_start_page |
108033 |
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1766134880478953472 |