Coastal Habitat Degradation under Global Change: Ecological Mechanisms, Socio-Economic Impacts, and Nature-Based Solutions

Coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes, coral reefs, soft-sediment and rocky habitats are among the most productive and valuable ecosystems on Earth, yet they are experiencing rapid loss and degradation at unprecedented rates. They sustain biodiversity, regulate biogeochemical cycles, support fisheries, enhance coastal protection, and contribute substantially to blue carbon storage. Despite their ecological and socio-economic importance, coastal habitats are experiencing unprecedented rates of degradation driven by the combined effects of anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Accelerated coastal development, land-use change, pollution, overexploitation of resources, biological invasions, and habitat fragmentation interact with climate-driven stressors such as sea-level rise, ocean warming, marine heatwaves, deoxygenation, and acidification, and they are acting synergistically to undermine ecosystem structure, functioning, and resilience. The degradation of coastal habitats has profound ecological consequences, including biodiversity loss, altered trophic interactions, reduced carbon sequestration, and the erosion of essential ecosystem services such as fisheries productivity, coastal protection, and livelihoods for coastal communities. The resulting loss of ecosystem services poses significant risks to food security, climate mitigation capacity, and the livelihoods of coastal communities worldwide.Although the drivers of coastal habitat loss are increasingly documented, important knowledge gaps remain concerning cross-scale ecological mechanisms, cumulative impact assessment, resilience thresholds, and the long-term effectiveness of restoration and management interventions under global change. Integrating ecological processes with socio-economic dimensions and governance frameworks remains a major scientific and policy challenge.This Special Issue aims to synthesize current knowledge on the key drivers of coastal habitat loss and degradation, assess their ecological and socio-economic impacts across spatial and temporal scales, and highlight innovative solutions for conservation, restoration, and sustainable management. We welcome contributions employing multidisciplinary approaches, including field observations, experimental studies, remote sensing, modeling, and socio-ecological analyses. Particular emphasis will be placed on cumulative impact analyses, blue carbon dynamics, ecosystem-based management, adaptive governance, restoration success metrics, and innovative monitoring technologies. By integrating science, applied management, and policy frameworks, this Special Issue seeks to advance actionable knowledge to enhance coastal resilience and support sustainable management under accelerating global change. Topic editors: Nawfel Mosbahi, Güley KURT, Jean-philippe Pezy Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78924/coastal-habitat-degradation-under-global-change-ecological-mechanisms-socio-economic-impacts-and-nature-based-solutions