Ecosystem classification and EU habitat distribution assessment in sandy coastal environments

Many recent developments in coastal science have gone against the demands of European Unionlegislation. Coastal dune systems which cover small areas of the earth can host a high level of biodiversity.However, human pressure on coastal zones around the world has increased dramatically in the last 50years. In addition to direct habitat loss, the rapid extinction of many species that are unique to these systemscan be attributed to landscape deterioration through the lack of appropriate management. In this paper, wepropose to use of an ecosystem classification technique that integrates potential natural vegetationdistribution as a reference framework for coastal dune EU Habitats (92/43) distribution analysis andassessment. As an example, the present study analyses the correspondence between hierarchicallandscape classification and the EU Habitats distribution of the coastal dune systems of Central Italy. The beach dune ecosystems of central Italy were classified following a hierarchical approach adapted fordescribing coastal vegetation. The potentialities of each Land Element to contain the different EU directivehabitats were assessed.In total, 24 Land Elements belonging to 8 Land Units, 5 Land Facets, 2 Land Systems and 2 Land Regionswere identified for the coastal dunes of central Italy, based on diagnostic land attributes.In central Italy, coastal dune environments including all the beach area, mobile dunes and all the fixed-duneland elements contain or could potentially hold at least one EU habitat of interest. Almost all dune slacktransitions present the potentiality for the spontaneous development of EU woodlands of interest.The precise information concerning these ecosystems distribution and ecological relationships that thismethod produces, makes it very effective in Natura 2000 European network assessment. This hierarchicalecosystem classification method facilitates the identification of areas to be surveyed and eventually bound,under the implementation of EU Habitat directive (92/43) including areas with highly disturbed coastal duneecosystems.