A Study on International Cooperation for Map the Distribution of Seagrss Beds on the Northwest Pacific Coast: A case study on the South Coast of Korea

Abstract

Seagrass beds are provide important ecological functions and ecosystem services in coastal ecosystems. Recently, it has been reported that much seagrass beds are decreasing around the world due to coastal development, landfill and climate change. Nevertheless, the Northwest Pacific, including Korea, lacks even accurate distribution information on seagrass beds. To understand the information on their distribution and threats, the monitoring study was conducted in the NOWPAP (Nowthwest Pacific Action Plan) region, which include South Korea, Japan, China and Russian Far East. In particular, long-term changes of seagrass beds on the south coast of Korea were investigated using remote sensing. From the review of the literature, ten species of seagrasses reported in the NOWPAP region, and 6 species were listed on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. According to an analysis of the long-term distribution changes of seagrass beds on the southern coast of Korea, there has been no significant change in the areal extent and distribution pattern in the past two decades. However, it has been found that most of the seagrass habitat die-off since the typhoon passed in 2012. Despite various changes in the marine environment, such as water temperature, daylight hour and precipitation, no dramatic changes are observed in the area of the seagrass habitat, which seems to be quite resi