View article

Seagrass meadows support complex species assemblages and provide ecosystem services with a multitude of socio-economic benefits. However, they are sensitive to anthropogenic pressures such as coastal development, agricultural run-off, and overfishing. The increasing prevalence of marine heatwaves (MHWs) due to climate change poses an additional and growing threat. In this study, we apply the environmental sensitivity mapping approach MESA (Mapping Environmentally Sensitive Assets) to explore the potential consequences of MHWs on the ecosystem services that Posidonia oceanica provides to coastal communities. Under the intermediate climate change scenario Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, Mediterranean marine heatwaves will be severe by 2050, and will very likely increase mortality of P. oceanica. However, the societal risk of seagrass loss is not evenly distributed across the …