Ecological Indicators最新文献

{"title":"A health-service-risk framework for evaluating ecological carrying capacity in arid inland river basins: A case study of the Tarim River Basin","authors":"Rongqin Yang,&nbsp;Zhenxia Mu,&nbsp;Zilong Li,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Qiu,&nbsp;Jing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113427","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113427","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecological carrying capacity (ECC) serves as a crucial indicator for evaluating the potential of regional ecosystems and informing sustainable development strategies. However, existing research on arid inland river basins often lacks a comprehensive and integrated assessment framework. Therefore, this study proposes a novel ECC evaluation framework based on ecosystem sustainability, incorporating ecosystem health (EH), ecosystem service (ES), and ecological risk (ER). Using the Tarim River Basin (TRB) as a case study, the ecological environmental quality index (EEQI) was introduced to validate the reliability of the assessment results, while spatial correlation analysis was employed to confirm the necessity of the framework. The independent and joint effects of the drivers on ECC were analyzed using the optimal-parameter Geodetector model. The results showed that spatial clustering characteristics such as “low carrying-high health” and “low carrying-high service” exist in the TRB. Healthy ecosystems and those providing multiple services are not necessarily capable of carrying, highlighting the need for a comprehensive evaluation of ECC that combines EH, ES, and ER. The ECC evaluation, based on the “health-service-risk” framework, was significantly correlated with the EEQI (correlation coefficient = 0.694–0.770, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), indicating that the evaluation results were reliable and accurately reflected the actual status of ECC in the TRB. The overall ECC of the TRB is minimal, with regions of low and medium carrying capacity constituting over 76.83 % of the total area. The ECC condition of the TRB gradually improved from 2000 to 2020, with areas of increased carrying capacity averaging about 16.79 % of the total area in each period. The improvements were most evident in mountainous regions. The joint effects of several factors significantly affect ECC more than the independent effects of individual components. Notably, land use intensity and landscape factors increasingly influence ECC status. This study not only provides a valuable reference for the ecological conservation, restoration, and sustainable regional development of the TRB, but also offers a robust framework for ECC assessment in other arid inland river basins.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113427"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in future drought characteristics in the Ili River Basin, China, using the new comprehensive standardized drought index","authors":"Zilong Li ,&nbsp;Zhenxia Mu ,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Qiu ,&nbsp;Jing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The construction of a comprehensive drought index and the evaluation of future drought characteristics are important for drought management decisions. In this study, we constructed a new comprehensive drought index (SWCI) that can comprehensively characterize the meteorological-hydrological-agricultural drought characteristics based on the hydro-meteorological factors (precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil water, surface runoff, and underground runoff, etc.) simulated by the VIC model coupled with the CMIP6 GCMs, and by using the D-Vine Copula function. Then, we applied the SWCI index to the Ili River Basin (IRB) and analyzed the change characteristics of comprehensive drought in the study area under the future climate change scenario. The results show that: (1) The spatial downscaling effects of CMIP6 and the runoff simulation effect of the VIC model were better during the historical period (1961–2014), which can provide reliable runoff and hydro-meteorological prognosis data, (2) The SWCI index comprehensively considers the hydro-meteorological factors closely related to the occurrence and evolution of drought, and can monitor the occurrence and development process of drought well. It can comprehensively describe drought characteristics from meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural perspectives, (3) The comprehensive drought intensity and duration decreased in the eastern basin (IRB1) under the SSP1-2.6 scenario. In contrast, the intensity and duration of the whole basin increased under the SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, with an average increase of at least 7.40 %, 2.14 %, and 13.78 %, respectively, and (4) The drought return period showed significant differences. In the historical period, the return period of moderate and above drought events (S &gt; 1, P &gt; 1, D &gt; 3) in the IRB was longer. In the future period (2025–2078), the drought return period with S &gt; 1, P &gt; 1 and D &gt; 3 was shorter than that in the historical period, with the greatest reduction in the southern (IRB2) and western (IRB3) of basin. Our results suggest that the comprehensive drought risk in the Ili River Basin will increase during the mid-21st century, and relevant defense preparations should be made for high-risk regions (IRB2 and IRB3).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113412"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fish diversity assessment and semi-quantitative biomass estimation through metabarcoding of environmental DNA","authors":"Yassine Kasmi ,&nbsp;Ismael Núñez-Riboni ,&nbsp;Tina Blancke ,&nbsp;Benita Möckel ,&nbsp;Matthias Bernreuther ,&nbsp;Christoph Stransky ,&nbsp;Reinhold Hanel","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113406","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113406","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A sustainable management of marine fisheries resources requires the continuous development and adaptation of monitoring and tracking techniques, both in terms of species diversity and abundance. In order to find alternatives to common invasive catch-based biodiversity assessments, we tested a fish-specific environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding approach, targeting the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Analysis of 64 seawater and sediment samples revealed a high detectability of fish DNA in the North Sea, with more reliable results in water compared to sediment samples. Species diversity assessments overlapped by 81 % between eDNA and bottom trawl catch analyses, with more than 32 % of the species detected only by eDNA compared to bottom trawling as reference value (100 %).</div><div>With regard to quantitative biomass estimates for common dab (<em>Limanda limanda)</em>, the eDNA-based estimates revealed similar results as compared to bottom-trawl catches. Modelling of trawl outputs as a function of read counts and sampling depth yielded up to 70% correlation between the model and the observed data for common dab.</div><div>The outcomes of this study again highlight the potential of eDNA for marine biodiversity monitoring, not only for presence/absence assignments of species, but also for biomass estimates, with a high degree of reliability as compared to reference methods. The model reveals the importance of including environmental data to correct the bias linked to the persistence of eDNA in seawater.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113406"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water system sustainability of China’s Yellow River Basin: A Refactoring and integrated evaluation based on the sustainable development Goal 6","authors":"Xiujing Guan ,&nbsp;Zihua Liu ,&nbsp;Yang Guan ,&nbsp;Wenhao Wu ,&nbsp;Rongguang Shi ,&nbsp;Bing Rong","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effective water system management is essential for achieving sustainable development in large river basins, yet the interactions among water resources, environment, ecology, and human actions remain inadequately explored. Focusing on the Yellow River Basin, a critical ecological and economic corridor, this study investigates the spatiotemporal evolution of coupling coordination and environmental equity within the water resource-environment-ecology-actions system from 2015 to 2022. Using coupling coordination analysis, and the Gini index, the results reveal a gradual improvement in environmental equity, as evidenced by a decrease in the Gini index from 0.257 to 0.229, indicating a more equitable distribution of water resources. Despite this progress, the coupling coordination degree remains at the “borderline disorder” stage, with significant regional variability driven by disparities in socio-economic development and geographical conditions. Upstream areas demonstrate improved coordination due to enhanced ecological restoration and governance, whereas downstream regions experience greater pressures from industrial growth and population expansion. Structural equation modeling highlights the stabilizing role of water resources in improving water system sustainability, while the effects of water ecology and human actions exhibit region-specific variations. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic relationships within the water system, emphasizing the need for regionally tailored strategies to address disparities, enhance coordination, and integrate ecological restoration with sustainable water management. These findings and the proposed analytical framework offer valuable guidance for advancing water system sustainability in the Yellow River Basin and other large-scale river systems globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113396"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143760299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A framework for large-scale analyses of ecosystem health and its driving factors in complex underlying basins","authors":"Chunhua He ,&nbsp;Zezhong Zhang ,&nbsp;Changsen Zhao ,&nbsp;Qingqing Qi ,&nbsp;Yanqing Lian ,&nbsp;Guoqing Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113424","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113424","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global climate change and biodiversity loss has accelerated ecosystem degradation. Comprehensive assessing and monitoring global ecosystem health is the basis for ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation. However, the previous indicator systems are complex and subjective, making them difficult to be applied in large-scale complex subsurface basins, hinding effective assessment and monitoring on global ecosystems. To this end, this paper constructs a new ecosystem health evaluation framework based on landscape pattern indicators and Condition-Vitality-Organization-Resilience (CVOR) model, applicable to large-scale complex subsurface watersheds, based on which the key factors driving the spatial and temporal evolution of health status are identified. Coupling the landscape pattern with the CVOR model greatly reduced data requirement, and can effectively handle large-scale ecosystem issues. It overcomes the limitations of the traditional indicator system in terms of spatial adaptability and ensures the consistency of comparisons between different indicators and model results of high-resolution landscape distribution data. Using high-resolution landscape distribution data dramatically reduced the errors caused by subjective judgment and improve the objectivity and accuracy of the assessment. Application to the Yellow River water conservation area in China shows that the health status was in the state of warning from 1990 to 1994, and the health status was in the state of unhealthy from 1995 to 2021. The greatest influence on health status was landscape separation (DIVISION, Pearson correlation coefficient 0.91), followed by the patch shape indicators (LSI, −0.90). Grassland and cropland, which are the largest landscape types in the areas, are gradually decreasing, with overgrazing, reforestation and urbanization being the main reasons. The decline was more pronounced in the western plateau areas than in the eastern plains, while the southwestern part showed significant improvement. The connectivity between patches of various landscape types has been enhanced, and the water conservation capacity has been continuously improved. The methodology and results of this study can provide a scientific basis for ecological restoration in the Yellow River Basin. It can also provide reference and guidance for other regions across the world to cope with climate change and biodiversity loss indued problems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113424"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rice fields as alternative foraging grounds: Rising shorebird diversity and abundance despite declines in natural coastal wintering sites","authors":"K.M. Aarif ,&nbsp;Aymen Nefla ,&nbsp;K.A. Rubeena ,&nbsp;Yanjie Xu ,&nbsp;Zuzana Musilova ,&nbsp;Petr Musil ,&nbsp;Lijia Wen ,&nbsp;Yumin Guo ,&nbsp;Mohd Irfan Naikoo ,&nbsp;Christian Sonne ,&nbsp;Sabir Bin Muzaffar","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113425","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113425","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the extent to which shorebirds confront habitat degradation at the natural wetlands (mudflats, mangroves, sand beaches) by shifting to adjacent rice fields for foraging. Our results showed an overall decline in shorebird abundance across the southwest coast of India; however, this decline was mostly observed in natural habitat types. In contrast, shorebird diversity and abundance showed more significant positive trends in the adjacent rice fields than these natural habitats. The prey abundance showed a similar trend to shorebird abundance. While mudflats and sand beaches degraded with a decrease in their prey abundance, rice fields play a crucial role as alternative/complementary foraging grounds with increasing amount of food resources for shorebirds. Our results suggest that although the shorebirds shifted to anthropogenic alternative sites with additional food resources, such behavioral adaptations were not sufficient for bending the overall declining trend of their abundance. Agricultural practices like ploughing and flooding of rice fields enhanced the prey availability to the shorebirds which are the key factors that attracted the shorebirds towards these artificial ecosystems. Hence deploying sustainable agricultural practices may add up to conservation efforts to protect the shorebirds species in their alternative wintering and foraging sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113425"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143759702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A social-ecological-technological vulnerability approach for assessing urban hydrological risks","authors":"S. Khromova ,&nbsp;G. Villalba Méndez ,&nbsp;M.J. Eckelman ,&nbsp;P. Herreros-Cantis ,&nbsp;J. Langemeyer","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113334","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the context of urban population growth and climate change, and ever greater number of people are anticipated to face severe risks associated with extreme climate events; major ones are due to stormwater-related hazards. This study offers novel understanding of the complex nature of water-related risks in urban geographies by employing a Social-Ecological-Technological Systems (SETS) framework to assess vulnerabilities. Hydrology-informed urban risk index was developed, quantifying seventeen indicators from historical and modeled data on sewer overflow and flood events. The spatially explicit SETS-based approach identifies high-risk communities and hotspots where multiple vulnerabilities intersect and can serve as a valuable tool for guiding policy and decision-making to support more resilient urban futures. Our findings reveal that social vulnerability plays a critical role in determining the overall risk (R = 0.4), with the greatest impacts imposed on socially vulnerable communities. However, insights from the ecological (R = 0.2) and technological (R = 0.1) domains provide essential guidance for future risk reduction strategies—such as upgrading outdated sewer infrastructure and exploring green space potential for run-off mitigation. The framework proposed is generalizable to other cities facing similar environmental challenges, highlighting its potential as a foundational tool for policymaking to reduce risks associated with extreme climate events.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113334"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Structural succession and functional changes in the river ecosystem of the Yellow River estuary under the influence of ecological restoration measures","authors":"Wang Yiping ,&nbsp;Yuan Longhu ,&nbsp;Lu Yongjun ,&nbsp;Zeng Yuhong ,&nbsp;Liu Huaixiang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113428","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113428","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Clarifying the changes in the structure and function of damaged river ecosystems in estuaries influenced by restoration measures is crucial for formulating regional ecosystem management and restoration strategies; however, research on the Yellow River estuary remains insufficient. This study aimed to construct Ecopath models of the river ecosystem in the estuarine section of the Yellow River across different historical periods, based on previous biodiversity data. The results indicated that the sum of all production and total system throughput increased 107.3t/km²·a and 1288.4 t/km²·a respectively from 2013 to 2014 to 2019–2022, and the ratio of total primary production to total respiration was close to 1, thus the ecosystem became more mature. Moreover, <em>Lateolabrax japonicus</em> and <em>Pseudorasbora parva</em> were replaced by <em>Mugil cephalus</em> and <em>Parabramis pekinensis</em>, and most functional groups displayed lower integrated trophic levels but greater biomass and higher ecotrophic efficiency. Concurrently, functional groups became more interconnected, resulting in a more complex food web structure. Our study shows that the ecological capacity of functional groups in the study area is unsaturated, so future conservation activities should consider enhancing the biomass of carnivorous and detritivorous fish to promote the river ecosystem in the Yellow River estuary. These findings affirm the effectiveness of long-term implementation of river restoration measures such as stock enhancement and ecological scheduling, and propose optimizing the direction of restoration measures from an ecosystem perspective.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113428"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143759703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial–temporal evolution of economic-ecological benefits and their driving factors in Yellow River irrigation areas","authors":"Chang Liu ,&nbsp;Enhui Jiang ,&nbsp;Bo Qu ,&nbsp;Lingqi Li ,&nbsp;Lingang Hao ,&nbsp;Wei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113419","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113419","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the spatial–temporal variations in the economic-ecological benefits and driving factors within the Yellow River irrigation areas (YRIA) is crucial for ensuring high-quality socioeconomic development and ecological environment health of the Yellow River Basin, China, which is inherently water scarce. This study improved an accounting method for economic-ecological benefits in irrigation areas, based on the quantification methods for ecosystem service value and economic output value at constant prices, and quantitatively analyzed the different types of benefits and total benefits in the YRIA. The key driving factors of the economic-ecological benefits per unit area (<em>EEBUA</em>) in the YRIA and their spatial and temporal driving mechanisms were analyzed by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. The results revealed that the economic-ecological benefits markedly increased during 1990–2020. The YRIA in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River had stronger economic benefit output capabilities, while the YRIA in the upper reaches of the Yellow River had stronger ecological benefit output capabilities. The order of importance of the key factors influencing the economic-ecological benefits was precipitation (<em>PRE)</em>, industrial water use (<em>IW</em>), the proportion of the cultivated land area (<em>CL</em>), the proportion of the arable land area (<em>AL</em>), and agricultural water use (<em>AW</em>). Under the limited total water consumption assumption, the average standardized regression coefficient of <em>AW</em> with the <em>EEBUA</em> decreased from 0.034 to −0.120 in 1995–2000, indicating a shift from a promoting to an inhibiting effect. The average standardized regression coefficient of <em>IW</em> notably increased from 0.37 to 1.69, indicating a rapid rise in the importance of <em>IW</em> for the economic-ecological benefits economic-ecological benefits in 2010–2015. This inhibiting effect of <em>AW</em> on the <em>EEBUA</em> was greater in the downstream areas of the Yellow River, and the intensity gradually increased. These findings could provide a basis for water and land resource utilization planning and the yellow river water dispatch scheme.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113419"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of the ecological status of Posidonia oceanica meadows along the Calabrian Coasts: A multi-index approach","authors":"Faustino Scarcelli ,&nbsp;Chiara Spadaro ,&nbsp;Annamaria Ienco ,&nbsp;Vincenzo Osso ,&nbsp;Pietro Giovannelli ,&nbsp;Silvestro Greco ,&nbsp;Silvia Mazzuca ,&nbsp;Amalia Piro","doi":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study assessed the ecological status of <em>Posidonia oceanica</em> meadows along the Calabrian coast, a region that acts as a geographical barrier between the eastern and western Mediterranenan basins. In doing so, the study addressed a significant gap in our knowledge of this important marine area. Six Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) were monitored along the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts, including the transition zone of the Strait of Messina. Using a comprehensive set of indices, the meadows were analysed with a multi-level approach at the population, individual, and community levels. The results revealed notable structural heterogeneity among the sites, while the Posidonia Rapid Easy Index (PREI) indicated good ecological conditions across all sites despite varying levels of environmental pressure. Individual descriptors, however, showed more nuanced patterns, with some sites exhibiting signs of consistent disturbance. Notably, the Reggio Calabria site displayed unique characteristics, such as wider leaf blades and higher epiphyte biomass, suggesting potential anthropogenic eutrophic impacts. Our findings highlight the complex interactions between environmental factors and human activities that influence these ecosystems. Overall, the results underscore the need for a multi-index approach in monitoring programs to provide a more accurate assessment of the health of <em>P. oceanica</em> meadows, crucial for developing effective conservation strategies in the Mediterranean.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11459,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Indicators","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 113408"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}