Defining hotspots and coldspots of regulating and maintenance ecosystem services is key to effective marine management – An assessment of a coastal-open sea gradient, Portugal

Abstract

Coastal and marine ecosystems provide valuable ecosystem services (ES) from which humans derive societal goods and benefits (SG&B) after inputting human capital. Their assessment and integration into management plans are crucial to maintain ecosystem productivity and ensure robust and resilient ecosystems. However, regulating and maintenance ecosystem services (RMES) are usually not given focused attention in ecosystem services assessments, despite their importance in supporting the ecological foundations of ecosystems and the provision of other ES. This research used regional to local indicators and spatial analysis to assess the provision of RMES along a coastal-open sea gradient in the northern coast of Portugal, as a tool to define priority areas for ecosystem-based and protected area management. Nine classes of RMES were identified and eleven indicators were used as proxies to assess and evaluate the continuum coast-sea multifunctionality, ES/SG&B bundles and hotspots and coldspots of ES supply. The study showed that 20% of the study area was classified as hotspots of RMES provision, i.e. areas with statistically significant higher values of RMES provision within the management area, and 28% classified as coldspots, i.e. areas with minimal values. The hotspots were mainly distributed along coastal areas and estuaries, with three main marine regions identified. While in general 39% of the areas identified as important for RMES provision were already protected, in the marine region only 30% of the key areas for RMES provision identified in this study are currently protected. The methods used in this work, using locally based and spatially explicit information on RMES provision, are applicable to other areas globally, as they are fundamental in supporting more effective management decisions at spatial scales from local to the wider regions.