Evidence on the impact of Baltic Sea ecosystems on human health and well-being: a systematic map

Abstract

Background While the unique marine and coastal environment of the Baltic Sea provides numerous ecosystem services, its ecosystems are under pressure due to the intensification and diversification of anthropogenic uses. This present work constitutes a systematic map of the evidence of the impacts of ecosystem services and disservices on human health and well-being. The aim is to create a better understanding of the threats of unsustainable management or the benefits of sustainable management of the Baltic Sea and the impacts these may have on the health and well-being of human populations and present these findings to policy advisors. The mapping process is described, and the characteristics of the evidence base are presented. Methods The applied method has been previously published in a systematic map protocol. Literature searches were carried out in English considering published peer-reviewed literature from traditional scientific journals and scientific reports from the grey literature, using synthesis software. A total of 17 databases were searched. Articles were screened in stages at title and abstract stage, then full-text stage. Geographic limitations were placed on the searches in accordance with research funders call, however, watersheds that had an impact on the Baltic Sea marine and coastal regions were considered. We used the more open PEO format, where population (P) included the human populations within the marine and coastal environment of the Baltic Sea region, exposure (E) related to the Baltic Sea ecosystems services and disservices, and the outcome (O) included all aspects of human health and well-being. After full-text screening articles selected for inclusion were searched for metadata connected to bibliographic information, ecosystem services, health and well-being outcomes and policy relevance. Review findings Out of 6456 hits only 460 studies discussed either health or well-being indicators to some extent. Of these, only 67 explicitly mentioned ecosystem services and health and well-being indicators. However, few in this subset engaged with the topic of ecosystem services or disservices and health and well-being in depth. Studies are increasingly relating the two concepts but currently it is mainly studies focussed on cultural ecosystem services that deal with the concept of health and well-being to a greater degree. Studies in the medical literature relating to impacts on health from exposure to the Baltic Sea did not relate their findings to ecosystem services. The database of 67 studies is attached as Additional file 5. Conclusions Ecosystem services play an important role in human health and well-being; however, we found few studies that explicitly examine these impacts in detail. Further research is needed to link the health and well-being outcomes from the Baltic Sea to the ecosystem services supplied and therefore to demonstrate the benefits and disservices provided by the Baltic Sea ecosystems to human populations.

Existing evidence on the impact of changes in marine ecosystem structure and functioning on ecosystem service delivery: a systematic map

“…For instance, even if a title or abstract mentioned an ecosystem service, the object of the assessment was often not about an ecosystem service. Similarly observed by Storie et al [38], several articles mentioned the term "ecosystem services", but did not mention what kind of services were provided/ involved. Other reasons for exclusion were, in the order of the number of articles excluded: lack of spatial and/or temporal differences (Comparator); review articles either without ES values altogether, or presenting only existing ES values from other articles without new analyses; missing marine ecosystem (Population) and full text not in English ("Language") (Fig.…”

“…A high number of records was identified in our search (29 744 records without the duplicates) with 2.2% (653) selected for the systematic map. This low number of mapped articles can be linked to the frequent use of keywords relating to ES for articles covering very different subjects, a point also highlighted in [38,67].…”

“…Only a few articles have explored ES in deep-sea ecosystems [37]. More recently, systematic maps have been published on the ES provided by the ecosystems in the Baltic Sea (Stories et al [38] and Kuhn et al [39]), revealing cultural services as the most assessed ES category. Likewise, food provision and recreation have been significantly studied in the Baltic Sea, in addition to eutrophication mitigation.…”

Decoding the Baltic Sea's Past and Present: A simple Molecular Index for Ecosystem Assessment

“…Within this timeframe, the Dia/Dino-index identified a regime shift at the end of the 1980s in the Baltic Proper, which has been attributed to climate warming (Wasmund et al, 2017). However, at the start of the biomonitoring, changes in trophic state had already exerted stress on the complete Baltic ecosystem and its communities (Mack et al, 2020; Storie et al, 2021). Eutrophication predates the 1980s, based on available nutrient data extending back to 1900 (HELCOM, 2021; Wasmund, 2017).…”

“…These regular biomonitoring surveys in the Baltic Sea were initiated in the 1980s due to the tremendous anthropogenic pressures on its unique marine and coastal environment (Storie et al, 2021). Within this timeframe, the Dia/Dino-index identified a regime shift at the end of the 1980s in the Baltic Proper, which has been attributed to climate warming (Wasmund et al, 2017).…”