Abstract
Sustainable coastal ecosystem management in the future calls for interdisciplinary elements, including vulnerability indicators and risk assessment. Prioritization, as an emerging concept in this vein, has been just now integrated into coastal ecosystem management and its relevant research, and even tapped as a vital tool for land management. Against this background, the present study aims to delineate an easy-to-implement approach for the identification and prioritization of vulnerable areas, in view of the diversity of coastal plant species and communities, as well as their vulnerability to the potential risks of habitat fragmentation, exposure to hazardous and noxious substances, and oil spills. This guideline further seeks to provide a practical methodology for risk management under ordinary and extraordinary conditions, which is then applied in a fully industrialized area in the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. In relation to the risks researched in this area, 10% of the coasts in the study area are at the high or very high risks of habitat fragmentation. In terms of exposure to hazardous and noxious substances, 11% of the coasts surveyed are subjected to high or very high risks, and 21% of them are encountering the high or very high risks of oil spills.
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Data availability
Some or all data models that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mr. Arash Haghshenas from Persian Gulf Fisheries Research Center for laboratory works and Mr. Aghil Ghorbani for field work assistance.
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Fazel Amiri: conceptualization, methodology, writing-reviewing, and editing. Alireza Hemmati: sample preparation and chemical analysis. Esmaeil Kouhgardi: writing-reviewing and editing.
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Highlights
• Coastal areas with high environmental risk were evaluated and classified for the first time in the study area.
• This interdisciplinary approach can accommodate the technical and scientific sectors and develop risk indicators using engineering strategies.
• About 10% of the coastline has a high risk of habitat fragmentation and HNS/Anthropogenic substances.
• About 20% of the coastline is at high risk of oil spills.
• Mangrove forests in the study area have the highest risk of habitat fragmentation and oil spill.
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Hemmati, A., Amiri, F. & Kouhgardi, E. An interdisciplinary approach to the identification and prioritization of environmental risks in northern industrial coastal areas of the Persian Gulf. J Coast Conserv 27, 16 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-023-00935-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-023-00935-1