Ecosystem Services and Vulnerability Assessments of Seagrass Ecosystems: Basic Tools for Prioritizing Conservation Management Actions Using an Example from Thailand

Abstract

Seagrass habitats are among the most valuable coastal ecosystems. They provide a wide array of ecosystem services (ES) that support the livelihoods of many people. However, seagrass habitats worldwide are at risk of being lost due to the alteration of coastal areas by many causes. Seagrass meadows around Thailand were assessed to evaluate their ecosystem services and vulnerability (VU) status. The ES and VU analyses could be used as basic tools to assess the status of individual seagrass meadows and to prioritize the action needed among several meadows. From 82 seagrass sites, the ES of seagrass habitats tended to be varied based on the areas of the seagrass beds. The vulnerability of the seagrass habitats was mainly influenced by the threat of boating accidents and the incidence of sedimentation. The final combined analysis suggested that a seagrass site at Ban Don (BD), in Surat Thani Province, should be the priority for intervention due to the importance of the ES provided at the site and the existence of a degree of threat from poor land-use management. This work allows us to understand more about the targeted management of seagrass ecosystems, which is very important for conservation and restoration because of its significant potential carbon offset.