2024-03-28T23:05:12Zhttp://digital.csic.es/dspace-oai/requestoai:digital.csic.es:10261/1029272018-07-16T07:15:10Zcom_10261_88com_10261_8col_10261_341
Using catenas for GIS-based mapping of NW Mediterranean littoral habitats
Mariani, Simone
Cefalì, Maria Elena
Terradas, Marc
Chappuis, Eglantine
Ballesteros, Enric
Conservation
Catalonia
Cartography
Ecological distribution
Marine environment
12 páginas, 9 figuras, 1 tabla.
Studies aimed at describing habitats and mapping their distributions are pivotal to implementing
management plans and to effectively guide conservation measures. We developed a novel approach of
data collection and entry (CAT-LIT) to establish a detailed cartography of the littoral habitats found along
the Catalan coast (Spain). Field data were recorded using coded, two-digit hierarchical lists (e.g. Aa, Ab,
etc.) of horizons found at each point along the coast, called catenas. The horizons were either dominated
by species (on the rocky bottoms) or sediment types (on the beaches) and corresponded to LPRE, EUNIS
and CORINE habitats. Catenas were transferred into a database and calculations about the extent of
bottom types, habitats, and catenas themselves along the coast were carried out with GIS tools. In
addition, habitat link richness was calculated and represented using network analysis programs. The
application of CAT-LIT to the Catalan coast showed that the habitats dominated by the lichen Verrucaria
amphibia and the flattened barnacle Euraphia depressa and those dominated by the barnacle Chthamalus
spp. were almost ubiquitous. Those dominated by the red alga Corallina elongata, the mussel Mytilus
galloprovincialis and the red alga Rissoella verruculosa were also common. Because of the frequency of
their connections, those habitats formed a huge hub of links in the networks. By using catenas, the
habitats can be viewed using GIS based programs keeping the catena as the main informational and
ecological unit. The catenas allow maximum compactness when vertically distributed habitats are to be
shown on a 2D map. The complete cartography and dataset on the spatial distribution of the littoral
habitats from Catalonia is valuable for coastal management and conservation to study changes in the
habitat distribution and relate such changes to anthropogenic pressures. Furthermore, the CAT-LIT can be
easily adapted to shores of other seas and oceans to obtain accurate cartographies of the spatiallyreduced
and highly vulnerable littoral habitats.
Financial support came from the projects “Cartografia dels
H abitats Litorals a Catalunya” (Departament de Territori i Sosteniblitat
and Institut Cartogr afic, Generalitat de Catalunya) and
INTRAMURAL CSIC 201330E065. This study is also a contribution of
GRACCIE (C5D2007-00067) and CoCoNET (FP7 Grant Agreement:
287844) projects.
Peer reviewed
2014-10-06T08:10:03Z
2014-10-06T08:10:03Z
2014
artículo
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 147 : 56-57 (2014)
0272-7714
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/102927
10.1016/j.ecss.2014.05.030
en
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2014.05.030
Sí
none
Elsevier