Pressures, stresses, shocks and trends in estuarine ecosystems – An introduction and synthesis

In times of strongly increasing human uses of coastal zones estuaries deserve and do gain more attention in science and the public because of their extraordinary character in terms of their environmental setting as well as their economic potential. Taking this into account the 50th Conference of the Estuarine Coastal Sciences Association was held in Venice, Italy, in June 2012 with the maxim ‘Todayʹs science for tomorrowʹs management’. As a result of the Conference this special issue of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science focusses on ‘Pressures, stresses, shocks and trends in estuarine ecosystems’. Here we identify the major hazards to estuarine ecosystems as belonging to three categories: human activities, climate change and extreme events; and we discuss the special issue contributions in this context. Moreover, studies of indicators of environmental change and larger scale assessments of estuarine ecosystems are also highlighted. There are examples providing scientific evidence for a ‘successful’ management in terms of ecosystem recovery. However, for todayʹs and future management it appears mandatory to use the term ‘successful’ in the sense of being beneficial for the ecosystem as well as for the stakeholders. With this in mind, we discuss the future of, and challenges to, estuarine ecosystems in the light of the environmental change of the Anthropocene in a final section.