BALANCEMappingmarinelandscapesintheBalticSeaecoregionICESWGMHM,WoodsHole18thofApril2007PersandKristensen&JohnnyRekerTheDanishFisheriesResearchInstitute&TheDanishForestandNatureAgencyOUTLINETheBALANCEprojectMarinelandscapesintheBalticSeaSubmarinestructuresmadebyleakinggasesinnorthernKattegat.Photo:DanKaasbySCOPEBSRINTERREGIIIBregion.The“BALANCE”projectareaincludesTheBalticSea,Kattegat&Skagerrak

19partners+7consultants10countriesincl.Norway&U.S.Abutexcl.RussiaBudget?4,7mio.Runs2?yearfrom1/72005CoverstheentireBalticSeaFundedbytheBSRINTERREGIIIBProgramme(DGRegio)TRANSNATIONAL&CROSS-SECTORALPARTNERSHIPTheDanishForestandNatureAgency(Lead)The

Geological

Survey

ofDenmarkandGreenlandTheNationalEnvironmentalResearchInstituteTheDanishInstituteforFisheriesResearchWWFDenmarkWWFGermanyInstitute

of

Aquatic

Ecology,University

of

LatviaEstonianMarineInstitute,University

of

TartuCoastalResearchandPlanning

InstituteMets?hallitus

Natural

HeritageServiceThe

Finnish

Environment

InstituteThe

Geological

Survey

ofFinlandWWFFinlandThe

Swedish

Environmental

Protection

AgencyTheNationalBoardof

FisheriesThe

Geological

Survey

of

SwedenCountyAdministrativeBoardofStockholmDepartment

ofMarineEcology,Gothenburg

UniversityWWFSwedenAIMAim:DevelopmentofaninformedmanagementtemplatefortheBalticSeafocusedonmarinespatialplanningthroughcross-sectoral&transnationalco-operation.Activities:Identify&collateavailableBSmarinedata(physical,biological,socio-economic),meta-databaseIdentify&mapmarinelandscapes&habitatsintheBalticSeaAssessmentoftheBalticMPAnetwork&developmentofthe“bluecorridors”conceptDevelopmentofBalticmarinezoningplansin2pilotareasStakeholdercommunicationstrategy&disseminationCharacterisationrequirements

-similaritiesbetweendirectivesWaterframeworkDirective(art.5.1,AnnexII):“-ananalysisofits[riverbasindistrict]characteristics”

HabitatsDirective(art.3.2,AnnexI):“-shallcontributetothecreationofNatura2000inproportiontotherepresentationwithinitsterritoryofthenaturalhabitattypesandthehabitatsofspecies…”ProposedMarineStrategyDirective(art.7.a,AnnexII):“-ananalysisoftheessentialcharacteristicsandcurrentenvironmentalstatusofthosewaters…andcoveringthehabitattypes,thebiologicalcomponents,thephysio-chemicalcharacteristicsandthehydromorphology”Allthreedirectives(WFDart.5.1,AnnexII),pMSDart.3.1,HDart.1.c)requiresatransnationalapproachcoveringentireecoregionse.g.theBalticSea.MARINELANDSCAPES

-characterisingthemarineenvironmentItisabroadscalecharacterisationofthemarineenvironmentbasedongeophysicalandhydrographicalfeatures.Itisancost-effectiveandsuitablefordescribingoffshoremarineareaswherebiologicaldataoftenaresparse.ItwasfirstdevelopedbyRoffandTaylor(2000)forpredictingspeciesassemblagesbasedongeophysicalandoceanographicdataforCanadianterritorialwaters.ThepurposewastoenhanceconservationofmarinebiodiversitythroughtheestablishmentofanationalframeworkofMPAsandcanbeappliedfordescribingboththebenthicandpelagicenvironment.ThemethodhasbeenappliedintheNorth-westernAtlanticthroughMESH,theUKthroughtheIrishSeaPilotProjectandUKSeaMap.Marinelandscapesaredefinedas(UKapproach):

Seabedfeatureswhichoccurawayfromthecoast,i.e.theseabedofopenseaareas.Inthisgroup,themarinelandscapescomprisetheseabedandwateratthesubstrate/waterinterface;Coastal(physiographic)marinefeaturessuchasfiordsandestuarieswheretheseabedandwaterbodyarecloselyinterlinked.Inthisgroup,boththeseabedandtheoverlyingwaterareincludedwithinthemarinelandscape;Watercolumnmarinelandscapesofopenseaareas,suchasmixedandstratifiedwaterbodiesandfrontalsystems.Inthisgroup,themarinelandscapescomprisethewatercolumnabovethesubstrate/waterinterface.MARINELANDSCAPESTHEBALANCEAPPROACHCollateandanalyseavailablegeophysicalandhydro-graphicalinformationfortheentireBalticSea&KattegatDefineandagreeonanunifieddataformatDecideacommonplatformfordatahandling,processingandprojectionofmarinelandscapemap,e.g.ArcGis,WGS84,UTMDefinestandardsforclassifyingBalticmarinelandscapesAvalidationschemetoconfirmthewhetherthepredictedlandscapesaredescribingthereallifesituationEvaluatetheexistingBalticnetworkofMPAs,identifyingBalticmarinediversityhotspots&strategictoolforplanningfieldworketc.Sediments5classesFirstcompiledsedimentmapoftheBalticSeaBathymetryDerivedslopeTopographicandbedformfeatures13typesidentifiedDifficulttojustifytheecologicalrelevanceGoodforplanningfieldsurveysSediment5classesFirstcompiledsedimentmapoftheBalticSeaSalinityModelledin7kmgridin20layers6classesbasedonbiogeographicdistributionpatternsofmacroalgaeandecologicalrequirementsoffish(e.g.Cod)SalinityattheseafloorusedSeafloorwithinthephoticzoneModelledBasedonSecchimeasurementsfromMarchtoNovemberover10+yearsHaloclineBasedonmodelleddataSecondarydatalayers:IcecoverOxygendepletion(incomplete)CurrentvelocityWaveexposureBedShearStressTemperatureDatalayersaremergedfortheentireregion~ecosystemapproachBenthicmarinelandscapesoftheBalticSeaMajorbasinsBiogeographicboundariesPicksupknownbanksandreefareasFieldstations(salinity,temperature&oxygen)Areas

with

suitable

conditions(>11PSUand>2mlO2/l)forsurvival

of

Cod

egg.

Pelagiclandscapes

–aBalticexampleAreaswithsuitableco