Seagrass meadows Authors Javier Romero DOI: 10.2436/20.1501.02.242 Keywords: marine angiosperms, seagrass meadows, Posidonia oceanica. Abstract Seagrass meadows occupy large surfaces (over 100,000 ha) of the infralittoral off the Catalan coasts (sensu lato, i.e. the area extending from French Languedoc-Roussillon to the Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands). They harbour a huge biodiversity and contribute to key aspects of the ecological structure and function of coastal waters. Seagrass meadows are highly sensitive to disturbances and have been subjected to impacts caused by human activities since the beginning or middle of the 20th century. The loss of surface area has been estimated at 25% of the original value, while in the remaining area the biological quality is highly heterogeneous: although good on the average and even excellent in some places, there are also large areas which are greatly degraded. The main threat faced by these ecosystems now and in the near future most likely involves the effects of climate change. These effects can be worsened by local impacts which, although at times more acute, may also be easier to manage. Downloads Download data is not yet available. Downloads PDF (Català) Issue Vol. 75 (2025) Section Articles License The intellectual property of the articles belongs to the respective authors. At the time of submitting the articles to Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Biologia, authors accept the following terms: — Authors assign to the SCB (a subsidiary of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans) the rights of reproduction, public communication (including communication through social networks) and distribution of the articles submitted for publication to Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Biologia, in any form and medium, including digital platforms. The Publications Committee reserves the right to accept or refuse submitted articles and the right to make any editorial changes it deems appropriate. If the suggested changes are accepted by authors, they should re-submit the article with such changes. — Authors answer to the SCB for the authorship and originality of submitted articles. In other words, authors assure that submitted articles do not contain fragments of works by other authors or fragments of their own previously published works; that the content of articles is original, and that the copyright of third parties is not infringed upon. Authors accept this responsibility and undertake to hold harmless the SCB for any loss or damage resulting from non-compliance with this obligation. Furthermore, they should include a statement in articles submitted to the journal regarding their responsibility for the content of the articles. — Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for the reproduction of all graphic material included in articles, and they should moreover ensure that images, videos, etc., have been created with the consent of the individuals appearing in them, and that material belonging to third parties is clearly identified and acknowledged as such within the text. Likewise, authors should provide the respective consents and authorisations to the SCB when submitting articles. — The SCB is exempt from any liability arising from the possible infringement of intellectual property rights by authors. In all cases, it undertakes to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies, if necessary. — Unless otherwise stated in the text or in the graphic material, the contents published in the journal are subject to an Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivs 3.0 Spain (by-nc-nd) license from Creative Commons, the full text of which may be consulted at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/deed.en. Therefore, the general public is authorised to reproduce, distribute and communicate articles as long as their authorship and publishing entity are acknowledged, and no commercial use is made of them nor derivative work produced from them. — The journal is not responsible for the ideas and opinions expressed by the authors of published articles.
