Zostera noltei seagrass meadows spatial distribution at LTER site Ria de Aveiro lagoon in 2014

This dataset describes the spatial distribution of the seagrass meadows of Zostera noltei, restricted to intertidal areas, in Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal) in 2014.



Ria de Aveiro is a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site ( http://www.lter-europe.net/) with several important habitats that justify its inclusion in the Natura 2000 network and classification as a Special Protection Area, comprising areas classified as Sites of Community Importance.



Zostera noltei (Hornemann, 1832) meadows are important habitats and nursery areas for many species, contributing to increase biodiversity, and relevant as Blue C reservoirs in Ria de Aveiro, supporting climate regulation and improving ecosystem health. However, Zostera noltei may be threatened due to changes in the lagoon hydrodynamics, since sediment remobilization negatively affects the seagrass stability, due to global changes and other drivers.



This dataset allows locating the spatial distribution and extent of Zostera noltei. Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, drone), aerial photographs were obtained and, through Geographical Information System (GIS) procedures and ground-truth validation, the seagrass spatial distribution at Ria de Aveiro was assessed.

With this information, the authorities can establish a security perimeter when human interventions and activities like dredging, which endanger the seagrass stability and conservation status, are foreseen.

Default

Identification

Alternate Identifier

9756e0d8-2234-4219-82e6-fde1c1b45314

Publication Date
2019-10-29
Title

Zostera noltei seagrass meadows spatial distribution at LTER site Ria de Aveiro lagoon in 2014

Abstract

This dataset describes the spatial distribution of the seagrass meadows of Zostera noltei, restricted to intertidal areas, in Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal) in 2014.



Ria de Aveiro is a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site ( http://www.lter-europe.net/) with several important habitats that justify its inclusion in the Natura 2000 network and classification as a Special Protection Area, comprising areas classified as Sites of Community Importance.



Zostera noltei (Hornemann, 1832) meadows are important habitats and nursery areas for many species, contributing to increase biodiversity, and relevant as Blue C reservoirs in Ria de Aveiro, supporting climate regulation and improving ecosystem health. However, Zostera noltei may be threatened due to changes in the lagoon hydrodynamics, since sediment remobilization negatively affects the seagrass stability, due to global changes and other drivers.



This dataset allows locating the spatial distribution and extent of Zostera noltei. Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, drone), aerial photographs were obtained and, through Geographical Information System (GIS) procedures and ground-truth validation, the seagrass spatial distribution at Ria de Aveiro was assessed.

With this information, the authorities can establish a security perimeter when human interventions and activities like dredging, which endanger the seagrass stability and conservation status, are foreseen.

Dataset Language

ENGLISH

 
Dataset Creator
Dataset Creator
Dataset Creator
Metadata Provider
Metadata Provider
Associated Party
Dataset Contact
Keywords (GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xml)

  • Occurrence

Keywords (GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml)

  • Observation

Keywords (n/a)

  • Ria de Aveiro

  • drones

  • Blue C

  • Zostera noltei

  • Salt marshes

  • field work

Geographic Coverage

Geographic Description

Ria de Aveiro is a shallow coastal lagoon located on the NW coast of Portugal. The only connection to the Atlantic Ocean is through a narrow channel 1.3 km in length, 350 m wide and 20 m deep. It is formed by four main channels (Mira, Ovar, Espinheiro, and Ílhavo).

Bounding Box

West Bounding Coordinate

-8.817

East Bounding Coordinate

-8.473

North Bounding Coordinate

40.855

South Bounding Coordinate

40.485

Taxonomic Coverage

General Taxonomic Coverage

The plant was identified to species

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name

Species

Taxonomic Rank Value

Zostera noltei

Common Name

Dwarf eelgrass

License Information

Intellectual Rights

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

.

 
 

Additional Metadata

Metadata

GBIF Metadata Block

Date Stamp

2021-11-29T09:04:39Z

Citation

Sousa A I, Figueiredo da Silva J, Lillebø A I (2019). Zostera noltei seagrass meadows spatial distribution at LTER site Ria de Aveiro lagoon in 2014. Version 1.2. Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Biologia e Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM). Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/ucf7eb accessed via GBIF.org on 2021-11-29.

Bibliography

Sousa, A. I., Silva, J. F., Azevedo, A, Lillebø, A. I. 2019. Blue Carbon stock in Zostera noltei meadows at Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal) over a decade. Scientific Reports, 9:14387 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50425-4

 

Project

• Project

Title

PORBIOTA - Portuguese E-Infrastructure for Information and Research on Biodiversity | LAGOONS - Integrated water resources and coastal zone management in European lagoons in the context of climate change

Personnel

Individual Name

Given Name

Ana Isabel

Surname

Lillebø

Role

ADMINISTRATIVE_POINT_OF_CONTACT

Abstract

PORBIOTA:

PORBIOTA is a Portuguese distributed e-infrastructure to manage biodiversity data, which will be integrated in the European e-Science infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research (LIFEWATCH), an ESFRI Roadmap 2016 Landmark. Tailored according to the national needs (research, management, policy, governance, citizen science) but compliant with the requirements of LIFEWATCH and other international initiatives, PORBIOTA aims to promote a national agenda of biodiversity survey and research, to provide services to the scientific community, policy makers and managers, and to raise biodiversity awareness and public engagement with science through citizen science and other outreach programs.



LAGOONS:

The environmental issue of concern of the LAGOONS project is the anthropogenic deterioration and climate change impacts - especially the effects of extreme weather events- on surface water and lagoons ecosystems. The main objective of the LAGOONS project is to contribute to a science-based seamless strategy - in an integrated and coordinated fashion - of the management of lagoons seen under the land-sea and science-policy-stakeholder interface; i.e., the project seek to underpin the integration of the EU Water Framework Directive, Habitat Directive, the EU's ICZM Recommendation, and the EU Marine Strategy Directive.



Project webpage: http://lagoons.web.ua.pt/

Funding

PORBIOTA:

FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Supported by Operational Tematic Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization POCI (COMPETE 2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)



LAGOONS:

Supported by the European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme ( http://lagoons.web.ua.pt/)

 
 

Methods

• Method

Method Step

Description

Sousa, A. I., Silva, J. F., Azevedo, A, Lillebø, A. I. 2019. Blue Carbon stock in Zostera noltei meadows at Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal) over a decade. Scientific Reports, 9:14387 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50425-4

Sampling

Study Extent

LTER site Ria de Aveiro lagoon (Portugal)

Sampling Description

(English version)

To map Zostera noltei (dwarf eelgrass) seagrass meadows spatial distribution and extent at LTER site Ria de Aveiro lagoon (Portugal) in 2014, aerial photographs were obtained during low tide in November 2013 and March 2014. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with an RGB camera was used and flights were performed following a predefined path and pattern at 150 to 200 m altitude. Acquired images were geo-referenced and combined via image ortho-rectification and mosaicking. In the aerial photograph mosaic, previously imported to a Geographical Information System (GIS), the polygons were drawn corresponding to the external boundaries of seagrass meadows. The interpretation of the aerial images was validated by ground-truth surveys of the external limits (using a GPS receiver) of several of the mapped Zostera meadows, performed immediately after the UAV flights. For this validation process, data from further field surveys, including local identification of the Zostera noltei meadows and local photographs, were also included. This seagrass mapping was performed in the scope of the work mentioned below andpublished as an ISI - International Scientific Indexed manuscript.



(Portuguese version)

A distribuição espacial das pradarias marinhas de Zostera noltei (nome comum: ‘sirgo’, ‘musgo’, ‘seba’, ou ‘cirgo’) na Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) foi mapeada em 2014 através da obtenção de fotografias aéreas durante a maré baixa, em novembro de 2013 e março de 2014. Utilizou-se um Veículo Aéreo Não Tripulado (UAV, sigla em inglês) com uma câmara RGB, e os voos foram realizados seguindo um percurso predefinido e a uma altitude que variou entre 150 e 200 m. As imagens adquiridas foram georreferenciadas e combinadas via orto-retificação e foi elaborado o mosaico de imagens. O mosaico de fotografias aéreas foi importado para um Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG) e os polígonos foram desenhados correspondendo aos limites externos das pradarias marinhas. A interpretação das imagens aéreas foi validada por levantamentos do solo dos limites externos (usando um GPS) de várias áreas de pradarias de Zostera mapeadas, realizados imediatamente após os voos do UAV. Para o processo de validação, foram incluídos também dados de outros trabalhos de campo, incluindo a identificação local das pradarias de Zostera noltei e fotografias locais. O mapeamento de pradarias marinhas foi realizado no âmbito do trabalho mencionado abaixo e publicado como um manuscrito ISI - International Scientific Indexed.