The aim of this book is to discuss practically useful (operational) bioindicators for sustainable coastal management, criteria for coastal area sensitivity to eutrophication and an approach set a 'biological value' of coastal areas. These bioindicators should meet defined criteria for practical usefulness, e.g., they should be simple to understand and apply to managers and scientists with different educational backgrounds. Central aspects for this book concern effect-load-sensitivity analyses. One and the same nutrient loading may cause different effects in coastal areas of different sensitivity. Remedial measures should be carried out in a cost-effective manner and this book discusses methods and criteria for this. Remedial strategies should generally focus on phosphorus rather than nitrogen because the effects of nitrogen reductions can rarely be predicted well and nitrogen reductions may favour the bloom of harmful cyanobacteria. Three case-studies exemplify the practical use of the bioindicators and concepts discussed in the book. The first concerns how local emissions of nutrients affect the receiving waters when all important nutrient fluxes are accounted for. The second concerns how to find reference values for 'good' ecological status to set targets for remedial actions. The third gives a reconstruction of eutrophication. If the development during the last 100 years can be understood, key prerequisites to turn the development would be at hand.

This book should attract considerable interest from researchers in marine ecology, consultants and administrators interested in management and studies of coastal systems.

1;Contents;5 2;Prologue;8 3;Introduction and Aim;10 4;Effect-Load-Sensitivity Analyses - Basic Concepts;20 5;Coastal Classifications and Key Abiotic Variables Regulating Target Bioindicators;26 5.1;3.1 Coastal Classifications;26 5.2;3.2 Coastal Morphometry;29 5.3;3.3 Water Exchange;49 5.4;3.4 Salinity;57 5.5;3.5 Water Temperature;61 5.6;3.6 Summary;65 6;Nutrients and Representativity of Data;66 6.1;4.1 Nutrient Sources and Remedial Actions;66 6.2;4.2 Limiting Nutrient - Phosphorus or Nitrogen or Both?;70 6.3;4.3 Nitrogen and Phosphorus - Hot Spots;76 6.4;4.4 Data Variability and Uncertainty - A Review of Key Concepts;77 6.5;4.5 Should Nitrogen or Phosphorus be Removed to Combat Coastal Eutrophication?;118 6.6;4.6 Example of Mass-Balance and Foodweb Modeling in a Target Ecosystem at the Local Scale;126 6.7;4.7 Summary and Conclusions;128 7;Operational Bioindicators for Coastal Management;132 7.1;5.1 Secchi Depth and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM);132 7.2;5.2 Oxygen Saturation in the Deep-Water Zone ( O2Sat in %);138 7.3;5.3 Chlorophyll-a;142 7.4;5.4 Cyanobacteria;147 7.5;5.5 Macrophytes;155 7.6;5.6 Index of Biological Value (IBV);160 7.7;5.7 Summary and Conclusions;164 8;Case-Studies;166 8.1;6.1 Introduction and Aim;166 8.2;6.2 How Important are Local Nutrient Emissions to Eutrophication in Coastal Areas Compared to Fluxes from the Outside Sea?;168 8.3;6.3 An Approach to Estimate Relevant Reference Values for Key Bioindicators;190 8.4;6.4 Reconstruction of Eutrophication History;206 8.5;6.5 Summary;229 9;Epilogue;230 10;References;236 11;Appendix;252 11.1;A.1 The Process-Based Mass-Balance Model, CoastMab;252 11.2;A.2 Nutrient Input from Land Uplift;289 12;Index;292