Identification of the Lagoon Ecosystems - Coastal Lagoons: Ecosystem Processes and Modeling for Sustainable Use and Development - page 6

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Identification of the
Lagoon Ecosystems

Angheluta Vadineanu

CONTENTS

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Conceptual Framework of Sustainable Use and Development
2.3 Spatio-Temporal Organization of Lagoon Ecosystems
2.3.1 Lagoon Ecotone
2.3.2 HGMU Spatio-Temporal Organization
2.3.3 Biocoenose's Spatio-Temporal Organization
2.3.4 General Homomorph Model for Lagoons
2.4 Scientific Achievements Relevant for Sustainable Management
of Lagoons and Land/Seascapes
2.5 Challenges for Ecosystem Modeling
References

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Lagoon ecosystems are ecotones, or transition units of landscapes and sea/waterscapes.
A key aspect of lagoons is highly sensitive areas known as wetlands, the interface areas
between the land and the water.
According to the definition accepted by the Ramsar Convention, wetlands exist
in a wide range of local ecosystems and landscapes or waterscapes distributed over
continents and at the land/sea interface. They are natural, seminatural, and human-
dominated ecological systems that altogether cover an average of 6% of the Earth's
land surface.

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Wetlands are diverse in nature. They include or are part of areas such as beaches,
tidal flats, lagoons, mangroves, swamps, estuaries, floodplains, marshes, fens, and
bogs.

The world's wetlands consist of about three quarters inland wetlands and one
quarter coastal wetlands. Palustrine and estuarine wetlands, which include lagoons,
account for most of them.

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Exponential increase in human population and the corresponding demand
for food and energy resources as well as for space and transport have in the last
century stimulated the promotion of economic growth driven by the principles
of neoclassical economy. Current philosophy has promoted, and unfortunately