Integrated methods for marine ecosystem physical accounting

Studies assessing marine physical stock accounts compliant with the globally adopted System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting are limited. These studies typically focus on ecosystems easy to map, and the fundamental linkage between ecosystem extent and condition and ecosystem services is rarely considered. Moreover, methodologies assessing marine ecosystem condition are diverse, but there is no standardised framework yet. In this study, we have successfully integrated an ecological valuation approach — the Ecological Value Assessment — with an established habitat classification system — EUNIS — to monitor marine ecosystem extent and condition in three European Atlantic regions. Results obtained in this study reveal that ecosystems’ condition spatial patterns vary depending on the context and are driven by specific ecosystem components. Additionally, this study has proven that our methodology has the potential to track ecosystem extent and condition over time, enable the direct connection of both extent and condition to ecosystem services and potentially be standardised to support national and international accounting efforts in oceans. The integrated method proposed in this study can operate with limited data and is easily adaptable to other coastal and marine regions, fostering its reusability.