Ekosystemtjänster från sjögräsängar i Östersjön

Sammanfattning: Ecosystem services is a relatively unexplored term in environmental science and in the society as well. The concept can seem rather abstract and difficult to understand to the public but it does not have to be. The term could seemingly help the public to understand why certain ecosystems and natural objects need to be preserved not only for their intrinsic value but also hence economic and social values received from these objects. This study aims to showcase which ecosystem services that are provided from seagrass meadows in coastal areas in the Baltic Sea with high natural values. The most valuable ecosystem services according to the Swedish Environmental council that are being provided in the Baltic coastal areas are production of oxygen and nutrients, a resilient genepool, regulation of pollutants, eutrophication and greenhouse gases together with nurseries for commercial fish and the foundation of recreational values from the sea. Most of the services are threatened in some way by human activity. In some cases, by unsustainable exploitation of the actual ecosystem service but for the most part well known issues such as eutrophication, acidification and overfishing. Another problem is that the usage of some services counteracts one another. It is also clear that most of the provided ecosystem services derive from the same natural values and are heavily intertwined with each other which is as much a problem as benefit preservation of the ecosystem services.