Het kustecosysteem
Provoost, S. (2004). Het kustecosysteem, in: Provoost, S. et al. (Ed.) Levende duinen: een overzicht van de biodiversiteit aan de Vlaamse kust. Mededelingen van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud, 22: pp. 10-45, ill.
In: Provoost, S.; Bonte, D. (Ed.) (2004). Levende duinen: een overzicht van de biodiversiteit aan de Vlaamse kust. Mededelingen van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud, 22. Instituut voor Natuurbehoud: Brussel. ISBN 90-403-0205-7. 416, ill., appendices pp., more
In: Mededelingen van het Instituut voor Natuurbehoud. Instituut voor Natuurbehoud: Brussel, more
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| Abstract |
The main contributors to the ecological specificity of the coastal ecosystem are the characteristic climate and geomorphological dynamics of the land-sea contact zone. Quantitatively however, ecological differentiation is mainly caused by soil moisture, which in turn is determined by topography and hydrology. Ecotope types are further determined by the complex of soil and vegetation development and several biotic interactions. Human impact on the coastal ecosystem is substantial. Over the past 150 years nearly half of the initial dune area has been urbanised, while the remaining sites have been subject to drastic changes.A conceptual ecosystem model is based on two major mechanisms: top down regulation and bottom up organisation. The relative contribution of these mechanisms to the ecological dynamics determines three landscape types. In the 'dynamic', 'stressed' and 'unconstrained' landscape, bottom up organisation and top down regulation are gradually of increasing and decreasing importance respectively. Additionally, we consider an anthropogenic landscape type. These landscape types are used as a framework for ecotope classification in which species and ecosystem are llnked. We describe 8 ecotope-groups: saline environment, mobile dune, wet dune slack with herbaceous vegetation, moss dune and dry dune grassland, scrub, woodland, some regression phases and anthropogenic ecotopes.Finally, nature valuation and its use in conservation are discussed. In many countries, biodiversity is most frequently used as a valuation criterion. Species descriptions in this book focus on [very] rare species in Flanders which appear significantly more at the coast compared to the rest of the area or species that are endangered in Flanders. |
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