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Jeux de données / International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)

Seagrass cover (Essential Ocean Variable) in Europe and the Caribbean, version 2025

Composition et couverture des herbiers marins

This layer shows the current known extent and distribution of Seagrass meadows in European waters, collated by EMODnet Seabed Habitats. The point and polygon layers were updated in 2023, and most recently in 2025. The purpose was to produce a data product that would provide the best compilation of evidence for the essential ocean variable (EOV) known as Seagrass cover and composition (sub-variable: Areal extent of seagrass meadows), as defined by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Seagrasses provide essential habitat and nursery areas for many marine fauna. There are approximately 72 seagrass species that belong to four major groups: Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Posidoniaceae and Cymodoceaceae. Zostera beds and Cymodecea meadows are named on the OSPAR Threatened or Declining Habitats list. Posidonia beds are protected under Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. The geographic extent of this product was extended in 2023 to include jurisdictional waters (including continental shelf and claimed extended continental shelf) of EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK) and Norway including areas in the Caribbean Sea.

Données et ressources

Informations supplémentaires

Étendue temporelle2019-01-01 – en cours
Date (revision)2025-10-03
StatutonGoing
Fréquence de mise à jourirregular
Langue des métadonnéesen
LicenceCreative Commons Attribution 4.0
Métadonnées sourcesISO 19115 XML
Dernière mise à jour2026-11-04
Créé2026-11-04
APIpackage_show