Assessing the human footprint on the sea-floor of coastal systems: the case of the Venice Lagoon, Italy.

ABSTRACT: Coastal systems are among the most studied, most vulnerable, and economically most important ecosystems on Earth; nevertheless, little attention has been paid, so far, to the consequences of human activities on the shallow sea-floor of these environments. Here, we present a quantitative assessment of the effects of human actions on the floor of the tidal channels from the Venice Lagoon using 2500 kilometres of full coverage multibeam bathymetric mapping. Such extended dataset provides unprecedented evidence of pervasive human impacts, which extend far beyond the well known shrinking of salt marshes and artificial modifications of inlet geometries. Direct and indirect human imprints include dredging marks and fast-growing scours around anthropogenic structures built to protect the historica

SUBMITTER: Madricardo F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6488697 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature