Ecosystem and Landscape Functions of the Coast: Recent Research Results

This part provides an overview of ecosystem and landscape functions of the Baltic coast based on recent research in the reed belt of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain, a sheltered lagoon system of the southern Baltic Sea. The coastline of these lagoons is dominated by common reed (Phragmites australis). Important physical and chemical functions of these shallow coastal ecosystems are: (1) erosion protection and vertical accretion, (2) carbon storage and sequestration, and (3) buffering of nutrients, especially phosphorus (encompassing the components sedimentation, sorption, precipitation, and plant uptake). Phragmites wetlands are very effective for erosion protection due to their dense rhizome network. Moreover, they can increase ground level elevation by biomass accumulation and sediment accretion. In the DZBC, the capacity to accrete sediments and biomass depends on the topography and land use of the hinterland. Carbon storage and sequestration are related to this vertical accretion. Sediment carbon stocks (down to 1 m depth) range between 8.3 and 37.7 kg C m−2. Phosphorus dynamics in the reed belts is governed by sorption, sedimentation, and plant uptake. Whereas sorption of P is reversible and governed by short-term meteorological and hydrodynamic processes, P accumulation by sedimentation and plant uptake is regulated on a longer term time scale.