Habitats and Biotopes in the German Baltic Sea.

ABSTRACT: To maintain or enhance biodiversity and sea floor integrity, mapping benthic habitats is a mandatory requirement in compliance with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The EU Commission Decision distinguishes between Broad Habitat Types (BHTs) and Other Habitat Types (OHTs). At the regional level, biotopes in the Baltic Sea region are classified according to the HELCOM underwater biotope and habitat classification (HUB). In this study, the habitats and their benthic communities were mapped for the entire German Baltic Sea at a high spatial resolution of 1 km. In two nature conservation areas of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as well as selected focus areas in the coastal waters, the resolution we provide is even more detailed at 50 × 50 m. Hydroacoustic data recording and be

SUBMITTER: Marx D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10813628 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature