Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25

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Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecohyd

Original Research Article

Provision of ecosystem services in the lagoon of Venice (Italy):

an initial spatial assessment
Silvia Rova a,*, Fabio Pranovi b, Felix Müller a
a
Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, Department of Ecosystem Management, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel,
Olshausenstr. 75, D-24118 Kiel, Germany
b
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Castello 2737/b, 30122 Venezia, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: The lagoon of Venice is a complex human–environmental system where several
Received 4 December 2013 environmental, economic and social issues call for new integrated management
Accepted 12 December 2014 perspectives. The ecosystem services approach can provide a new framework for the
Available online 24 December 2014
management of this area, and one of the first steps towards its application is ecosystem
services mapping. In this work, the spatial distribution of ecosystem services in the lagoon
Keywords:
of Venice was assessed in a qualitative way. Seven ecosystem services were chosen for the
Mapping ecosystem services
assessment: four provisioning services (aquaculture, fish and seafood, wild food and crops),
Erosion regulation
Water Framework Directive two cultural services (recreation and tourism and knowledge systems) and one regulating
Coastal ecosystems service (erosion regulation). The services were mapped by integrating biophysical and
GIS socio-economic information, resulting in an easily understandable representation of the
services provided. The ecosystem services maps were used to perform a zonal analysis,
referred to the water bodies adopted in compliance with the Water Framework Directive,
which allowed to identify the patterns of ecosystem services provision that characterize
each water body.
ß 2014 European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of Polish Academy of
Sciences. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Malamocco and Chioggia). The LV presents a heteroge-

The lagoon of Venice (LV) is a large and shallow coastal
lagoon located in the north-eastern Italy (Fig. 1). It has a
surface area of ca. 550 km2 and it extends for about 50 km
along the north-western Adriatic coast, to which it is
connected by three inlets (from north to south, Lido,
Abbreviations: ESS, ecosystem services; LV, lagoon of Venice; WFD,
Water Framework Directive; MAV, Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia
(Venice Water Authority).
* Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Economics,
Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Cannaregio 873, 30121 Venezia, Italy.
Tel.: +39 349 8109135.
E-mail address: silvia.rova@unive.it (S. Rova).
neous morphology, characterized by a complex pattern of
major (navigable) and minor channels, salt marshes, tidal
flats and islands.
Several human interventions, such as the diversion of
the main water courses outside the lagoon, have been
carried on in the LV since the time of the Venice Republic
(Ravera, 2000), and have been crucial for the morphologi-
cal evolution of the lagoon: by maintaining the dynamic
equilibrium between land and water they allowed the
survival of Venice and its lagoon throughout centuries.
However, the further modifications occurred in the 20th
century, such as the construction of jetties at the inlets and
the dredging of the Malamocco–Marghera channel (‘‘Oil
Channel’’), shifted the lagoon towards a prevalent erosion,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecohyd.2014.12.001
1642-3593/ß 2014 European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights
reserved.
14 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25
Fig. 1. Study area: the lagoon of Venice.
which lead to a negative sedimentary budget (Sarretta
et al., 2010). This, added to natural and anthropogenic
subsidence (12 cm) and sea level rise (11 cm) (Brambati
et al., 2003), resulted in significant changes of the lagoon
morphology, such as the reduction of the area occupied by
salt marshes, the increased bathymetry of tidal flats and
the siltation of channels, leading to a general flattening of
beds and loss of spatial heterogeneity (D’Alpaos, 2010;
Sarretta et al., 2010).
The complexity of the LV is further increased by the
various economic activities which take place in it
nowadays, acting as drivers of change with different
degrees of (un)sustainability. The most important among
them are tourism, fishing, aquaculture, industrial activi-
ties, maritime shipping and port, development of urban
areas and related activities, and agriculture. The combina-
tion of past interventions, physical forcing functions and
present activities is responsible for several issues which
threaten the lagoon ecosystem, such as the above
mentioned morphological modifications, nutrient and
pollutant loads (and consequent eutrophication events),
loss of biodiversity, relative sea level rise and increased
frequency and severity of ‘‘high water’’ events (for a review
see Ravera, 2000; Solidoro et al., 2010). These issues call for
new perspectives for the integrated management of the LV
and its resources.
Ecosystem services (ESS), which are defined as the
contributions of ecosystem structure and function – in
combination with other inputs – to human well-being
(Burkhard et al., 2012), provide a valuable framework to
analyze human–environmental systems, focusing on the
linkages between natural and human systems (Burkhard
et al., 2010). In order to represent these linkages Haines-
Young and Potschin (2010) have introduced the ‘‘service
cascade’’ conceptual model, which links ecological struc-
tures on the one hand, and elements of human well-being
on the other, proposing a series of intermediate stages
between them (in order: ‘‘biophysical structure or
process’’, ‘‘function’’, ‘‘service’’ and ‘‘benefit (value)’’)
(Potschin and Haines-Young, 2011). Furthermore, the
ESS cascade can be embedded in the DPSIR (Drivers-
Pressures-State-Impact-Response) adaptive management
cycle, the well-known framework adopted by the Europe-
an Environmental Agency (EEA, 1999). In this comprehen-
sion, suggested by Müller and Burkhard (2012), the
cascade stages of ‘‘biophysical structures and processes’’,
and the linked ecosystem ‘‘functions’’, can be placed in the
state step, whereas the changes of ESS provision, with their
 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25
consequences for human well-being, are understood as the
impact step of the DPSIR cycle. Overall, this provides a
comprehensive theoretical framework for the integrated
management of natural resources.
In order to effectively implement the ESS concept in
environmental management, ESS mapping is one of the
main elements which require to be improved (Daily and
Matson, 2008), since a spatially explicit approach allows to
better interact with stakeholders and decision makers.
Despite this, very few examples of ESS mapping in marine
and coastal areas are available in literature (Maes et al.,
2012), due to the lack of spatially explicit information.
This study is a first approach to the lagoon of Venice
from the ESS perspective, in which we have decided to
apply a spatially explicit methodology.
The aim of this study is to provide a first qualitative
mapping of the spatial distribution of some relevant ESS
provision in the LV. More in detail, the three main
objectives of the research are the following: (1) to identify
the relevant ESS in the LV; (2) to map the spatial
distribution of a subset of them; and (3) to analyze how
the overall pattern of ESS supply changes in different zones
of the LV, identified in relation to the water bodies of the
Water Framework Directive (WFD).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Spatial extent of the study
The boundary of the study area was defined using the
‘‘conterminazione lagunare’’, which is the boundary of the
administrative area where the Magistrato alle acque –
Venice Water Authority (MAV) operates. The three
sandbars of Cavallino, Lido and Pellestrina were also
included in the study area since they are the natural
structures that mark the border of the lagoon (Fig. 1).
The study area was subdivided into six main structural
components, whose shapefiles (updated to the year 2006)
were provided by the MAV (Fig. 1): subtidal flats (areas with
bottom elevation generally between 0.60 and 2.5 m
a.s.l.) intertidal mudflats (generally between 0 and 0.60 m
a.s.l.), salt marshes, (generally between 0.1 and 0.6 m a.s.l.);
channels, ‘‘valli da pesca’’, (enclosed basins located at the
borders of the lagoon, where extensive aquaculture is (or
was) carried on with traditional methods, whose origin
dates back to the XI century); and land (consisting of
islands, sandbars, ‘‘casse di colmata’’, i.e. unfinished
reclamation islands, and the portions of mainland which
are included in the ‘‘conterminazione lagunare’’).
2.2. Ecosystem services selection
The first step of the study consists in the selection of the
relevant ESS in the LV (Table 1), according to the ESS
classification scheme proposed by Kandziora et al.
(2013). When needed, the definitions of the ESS were
adjusted to the context of the LV, and/or the ESS were split
into sub-categories reflecting the different components of
the service. Seven ESS were chosen for the following parts
of the assessment (Table 1): four provisioning services
(aquaculture, fish and seafood, wild food and crops), two
15
cultural services (recreation and tourism and knowledge
systems) and one regulating service (erosion regulation).
The selection was mainly driven by data availability.
Among the regulating ESS, erosion regulation was selected
because of its particular importance in relation to the
erosive processes which are going on in the lagoon.
2.3. Ecosystem services mapping
The provision of each ESS was assessed using a
qualitative scale ranging from 1 to 3, where 1 = null or
low supply of the selected ESS, 2 = medium supply, 3 = high
supply. The method used for mapping provisioning and
cultural services, and the one used for the erosion
regulation service are presented separately in the two
following sections, because a more detailed analyses was
devoted to the latter ESS, due to its high relevance in the
lagoon.
2.3.1. Provisioning and cultural services
For each ESS or sub-category an indicator was identi-
fied, and service-specific spatial information were collect-
ed in order to qualitatively describe the spatial distribution
(see Table 2 and paragraphs below). The maps were
produced in ArcGIS 10.0 based on the structural compo-
nents mentioned in Section 2.1, integrated with the
service-specific spatial information.
Regarding provisioning ESS, the indicators chosen for
the aquaculture and fish and seafood ESS are referred to the
presence and intensity of the harvesting activities,
respectively. For the aquaculture ESS, the list of active
‘‘valli da pesca’’ was used to discriminate between active
and inactive ones (Provincia di Venezia, 2009). The fish and
seafood ESS was split in relation to the target species and
the fishing method. Clam ESS (referred to clam mechanical
exploitation) was mapped by integrating the cartography
of clam harvesting concessions (obtained from website
GRAL, 2013) and the estimate (through expert judgement)
of not controlled fishing areas. Fish (artisanal) ESS (referred
to fish artisanal exploitation) was mapped based on the
spatial distribution of the fishing gears (‘‘bertovelli’’)
(Provincia di Venezia, 2009). Hunting and recreational
fishing distributions were chosen as indicators for the birds
and fish (recreational) ESS, respectively. The first was
mapped on the basis of the cartography of hunting farms
and hunting blinds, as defined by the Hunting Plan of the
Regione Veneto, whereas the spatial distribution of
recreational fishing was estimated by expert judgement,
since no official map exists. Crops production was used to
assess the crops ESS, and its spatial distribution was
mapped based on the CORINE land cover map of the
Regione Veneto (2012), with minimum mapping unit of
0.25 ha. Due to the lack of more specific data relative to the
crop production of the different agricultural land cover
classes in the LV, the production was assumed to be
homogeneous among the different agricultural areas.
Concerning cultural ESS, the density of cultural tourist
attractions was chosen as indicator for tourism ESS. It was
mapped based on the cultural tourist attractions recom-
mended in the website of the Venice Tourist Board,
including monasteries, convents, churches and towers,
16 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25

Table 1
Relevant ESS in the LV, with the indication of the subset of ESS assessed in this study. ESS subcategories were identified to reflect the different components of
each service.

Ecosystem service Definition (adapted from Kandziora et al., 2013) Sub-category

Provisioning services
Assessed
Aquaculture Harvest of seafood from aquaculture farms. –
Fish and seafood Catch of fish and seafood for human consumption. Clam: referred to mechanical clam harvesting
Fish (artisanal): referred to fish catch from artisanal
fishing
Wild food Harvest of hunted wild animals and fish catch from Birds: referred to the harvest of birds from hunting
recreational fishing. activities
Fish (recreational): referred to seafood catch from
recreational fishing
Crops Cultivation of edible plants and harvest of these plants on –
agricultural fields and gardens which are used for human
nutrition.

Cultural services
Assessed
Recreation and tourism
Knowledge systems
Not assessed
Cultural heritage
and cultural diversity
Natural heritage and
natural diversity
Outdoor activities and tourism relating to the local
environment or landscape, including forms of sports,
leisure and outdoor pursuit
Environmental education based on ecosystem/landscape,
i.e. out of a formal schools context, and knowledge in terms
of traditional knowledge and specialist expertise arising
from living in this particular environment.
Values that humans place on the maintenance of
historically important (cultural) landscapes and forms of
land use (cultural heritage)
The existence value of nature and species themselves,
beyond economic or human benefits
Tourism: referred to tourism related to the cultural
heritage of the historical centre of Venice and
surrounding islands
Recreational navigation: referred to navigation in
the LV with recreational purposes
Education: referred to the environmental education
activities taking place in the LV
Tradition: referred to the main activities promoting
traditional knowledge, namely venetian rowing,
lugsail sailing, artisanal fishing, extensive
aquaculture practices and cultivation of traditional
crops

Regulating services
Assessed
Erosion regulation
Not assessed
Natural hazard
protection
Water purification
Nutrient regulation
Global climate regulation
Capacity to mitigate sediment erosion Biostabilization [for details see Section 2.3.2]
Reduction of wind driven resuspension [for details see
Section 2.3.2]
Susceptibility to wind driven erosion (negative
component) [for details see Section 2.3.2]
Protection from sea storms and mitigation of high tide
events
Capacity to purify water from pollutants
Capacity to buffer excessive nutrient loads averting
eutrophication events and their consequences (e.g. hypoxia
events, mortality of benthic organisms)
Long term storage of greenhouse gases in ecosystems

whose charm is indissolubly linked with the lagoon
environment. The attractions were assigned to the land
elements (i.e. islands or sandbars) in which they are
located, and for each of these land elements the number of
attractions per km2 was calculated. This value can be
considered a proxy of the tourist attractiveness of each
island. The intensity of recreational vessels’ navigation and
anchorage was used as indicator for the recreational
navigation ESS. Recreational vessels are defined as those
boats used for non-profit sport or recreational activities
(they do not include ships and boats used for public
transports), and their navigation in the lagoon is generally
aimed at enjoying the lagoon environment and the facing
sea. The map was produced considering the main path-
ways covered by recreational vessels, as described in the
COSES report about water traffic in the lagoon (COSES,
2002), and the location of the main marinas (from Mariutti,
2012) which are the starting points for the trips of a
significant share of recreational vessels. Concerning the
education ESS, the indicator used is the frequency of
excursions with environmental education purposes. The
lagoon offers an ideal context for outdoor educational
activities, in which enjoyment is conjugated with learning
and understanding of the lagoon ecosystem. The itineraries
of the educational excursions and their frequency (in
qualitative terms) were obtained from institutions
and cooperatives which organize educational activities
in the LV (Venice Municipality, cooperatives Sestante
 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25 17

Table 2
Indicators for the ESS assessed in this study, with reference to the categorization presented in Table 1. The service-specific information used for mapping
(and their sources) are also summarized.

Ecosystem service Sub-category Indicator Information used for mapping

Aquaculture – Presence and intensity of fish harvest List of active ‘‘valli da pesca’’ (from Provincia di Venezia,
from aquaculture 2009).

Fish and Seafood Clam Intensity of clam harvesting Cartography of clam harvesting concessions (from
website GRAL, 2013) and estimation of non controlled
fishing areas.
Fish (artisanal) Intensity of artisanal fishing activities Spatial distribution of the traditional fishing gear
‘‘bertovelli’’ (from Provincia di Venezia, 2009).

Wild Food Birds Distribution of hunting activities Cartography of hunting farms and hunting blinds
(obtained from the fishing and hunting office of the
Province of Venice).
Fish (recreational) Distribution of recreational fishing Expert judgement

Crops – Crops production CORINE land cover provided by the regional

administration (Regione Veneto, 2012).

Recreation and Tourism Density of cultural tourist attractions List of artistic and cultural tourist attractions, obtained
tourism from the Venice Tourist Board.
Recreational navigation Intensity of recreational vessels’ Report about water traffic in the lagoon (COSES, 2002)
navigation and anchorage and location of marinas in the lagoon and surrounding
mainland (from Mariutti, 2012).

Knowledge Education Frequency of excursions with
systems environmental education purpose
Tradition Presence and intensity of the following
traditional activities: venetian rowing,
lugsail sailing, artisanal fishing,
extensive aquaculture practices and
cultivation of traditional crops
Interviews and informative material from institutions
and cooperatives which organize educational activities
in the LV (Venice Municipality, cooperatives ‘‘Sestante’’,
‘‘Limosa’’ and ‘‘Hyla’’).
Areas of the main rowing regattas and location of the
main rowing associations; areas where the activities
(teaching, regattas, excursions) of the Lugsail
Association (‘‘Associazione Vela al Terzo’’) take place.

Erosion Biostabilization Erosion threshold (critical bed shear Spatial distribution of seagrasses (Nanozostera noltii,
regulation stress) Zostera marina and Cymodocea nodosa), macroalgae
(genera Ulva, Vaucheria, Gracilaria, Chaetomorpha and
Ectocarpales) (from Comune di Venezia et al., 2013,
relative to 2002), and benthic diatoms (from Facca and
Sfriso, 2007, relative to 2003).
Map of sediment particle size distribution (from
Comune di Venezia et al., 2013, relative to 1997–1998).
Reduction of wind driven Spatial distribution of depths at which Bathymetric map of the LV (provided by the Venice
resuspension the modelled wind driven bed shear Water Authority, relative to 2002).
stress is <0.7 Pa; Model of the bottom shear stress produced by wind
Surfaces of water located leeward from waves as a function of water depth and wind fetch
emerged structures (Fagherazzi et al., 2006).
Susceptibility to wind Depth classes with different Bathymetric map of the LV (provided by the Venice
driven resuspension susceptibility to wind driven erosion Water Authority, relative to 2002).
(negative component) Model of the bottom shear stress produced by wind
waves as a function of water depth and wind fetch
(Fagherazzi et al., 2006).

(http://www.sestantedivenezia.it), Limosa (http://www. excursions) of the Lugsail Association (‘‘Associazione Vela

limosa.it) and Hyla (http://www.hylacoop.it)). The indica-
tor chosen for the tradition ESS is the presence and
intensity of traditional activities, namely venetian rowing
(‘‘voga alla veneta’’), lugsail sailing, artisanal fishing,
extensive aquaculture practices and cultivation of tradi-
tional crops (i.e. the local variety of artichoke cultivated in
the islands of the lagoon, ‘‘carciofo violetto di S.Erasmo’’,
which got a national acknowledgement as a ‘‘slow food’’
and ‘‘traditional’’ product). The map was produced
integrating information relative to each activity: areas of
the main rowing regattas and location of the main rowing
associations; areas where the activities (teaching, regattas,
al Terzo’’) take place; artisanal fishing and extensive
aquaculture were mapped based on the maps produced for
the fish (artisanal) and aquaculture ESS, respectively, and
cultivation of traditional crops was mapped as a subset of
the agricultural areas of the CORINE land cover map of the
Veneto Region, including only the islands where the local
variety of artichoke is cultivated.
The maps produced through expert judgement were
firstly drafted by the authors, and then refined in
consultation with local experts from different fields of
expertise, belonging to different institutions such as the
University of Venice, the University of Padua, the National
18 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25

Research Council, the Venice Municipality and the literature (Amos et al., 2004; Grabowski et al., 2011;
Province of Venice. Lundkvist et al., 2007) and of estimations made in
consultation with experts. t0[bare] was estimated on the
2.3.2. Regulating services: erosion regulation basis of the percentage of sand, assuming increasing
The first step was the analyses of the erosion regulation
erosion threshold with increasing sand %.
ESS through the ‘‘service cascade’’ (Fig. 2).
(2) reduction of wind driven resuspension, i.e. the reduction
The term ‘‘potential’’ is referred to the subset of
of the wind driven erosion thanks to the overall
functions of which we recognize the direct potential
morphology of the ecosystem. The major winds
contribution to service provision (see also Burkhard et al.,
blowing in the LV are Bora and Scirocco, from North-
2014); the actual use of this potential generates the ESS
east and South-east respectively. Given a certain wind
flow. Here the step between ‘‘potential’’ and ‘‘flow’’
speed, wind-driven bottom shear stress is mainly
requires to evaluate whether the potential for erosion
affected by bathymetry and fetch length. The effect of
regulation, compared to the pressures producing erosion
bathymetry was mapped based on the spatial distri-
(such as wind, tides and water traffic), is enough to
bution of depths at which the modelled wind driven
effectively avoid sediment erosion. To do so a consistent
bed shear stress is lower than 0.7 Pa, a value which is
modelling effort is needed, which was not possible in the
considered to be a reasonable proxy of the erosion
context of the present work. Therefore, here we present the
threshold for bare sediments in the LV (Amos et al.,
‘‘potential for erosion regulation’’, which provides a good
2004). These ‘‘sheltered’’ depth ranges were estimated
overview of the mechanisms underpinning the erosion
to be 0–0.3 m and >2.4 m, on the basis of the model of
regulation service.
the wind-driven bottom shear stress as a function of
Three main mechanisms were identified and mapped
water depth, proposed by Fagherazzi et al. (2006). The
separately:
effect of fetch length, relative to Bora and Scirocco
winds, was mapped by extracting the water surfaces
(1) biostabilization, i.e. the biological processes that in-
which are located leeward from emerged structures
crease the resistance of sediment to erosion. The
(land and salt marshes), within a distance of 500 m in
indicator selected is the erosion threshold, which is the
South-West and North-West direction (using the
critical bed shear stress (t0) that initiates sediment
Euclidean Direction tool, ArcGIS Desktop 10.0). The
erosion. The erosion threshold was calculated by
500 m length was chosen because the model of
integrating the stabilizing effect of the biotic compo-
Fagherazzi et al. (2006) suggests that up to a 500 m
nent with the intrinsic stability of the bare sediment,
fetch the bed shear stress produced is lower than 0.7 Pa
according to the equation:
(for a wind velocity of 8 m/s).
BI (3) susceptibility to wind driven erosion as a function of
t0 ¼  t 0½bare
100 depth: this is a negative component, which reflects the
higher susceptibility of some depth ranges to wind
where BI is the Biostabilization Index (Amos et al.,
driven erosion. The depth ranges, defined on the bases
2004; Heinzelmann and Wallisch, 1991), a measure of
of the model proposed by Fagherazzi et al. (2006), are
the stabilizing effect of bottom vegetation (in percent-
the following: 0.7–1.5 m = ‘‘high susceptibility’’; 0.3–
age), and t0[bare] is the critical bed shear stress of 0.7 m and 1.5–2.4 m = ‘‘medium susceptibility’’; 0–
unvegetated sediment. The BI was assigned to the 0.3 m and >2.4 m = ‘‘low susceptibility’’.
different vegetation covers (benthic diatoms, sea- These three mechanisms were expressed using a
grasses and macroalgae) on the basis of data from normalized scale from 0 to 1 and then combined using

Biophysical
structures and
processes
Potential
Sediment type Biostabilization
Morphology Reduction of wind Ecosystem Service
Habitat types driven resuspension
Negative Mitigation of Benefit
component: erosive phenomena
Susceptibility to
wind driven erosion Preservation of the Value
morphology of the
lagoon Avoided cost of
works for the
Mainteinance of maintainance of
navigable channels navigable channels
and for the
restoration of the
morphology of the
lagoon

Fig. 2. ‘‘Service cascade’’ for the erosion regulation ESS in the lagoon of Venice.
 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25
the Weighted Sum tool (ArcGIS Desktop 10.0), with
coefficients of 1 for biostabilization, 0.5 for reduction of
wind driven resuspension and 0.25 for susceptibility to
wind driven erosion. The resulting map was converted in
the qualitative scale described in Section 2.3, adding two
intermediate classes, 1.5 = ‘‘medium–low’’ and 2.5 = ‘‘me-
dium–high’’.
2.4. Zonal analyses
The mapping results were used to perform a zonal
analysis using two generally recognized partitionings of
the LV: the three sub-basins and the WFD water bodies
(Fig. 3).
The three sub-basins, Northern (NSB), Central (CSB) and
Southern (SSB), were mapped according to the partitioning
proposed by Solidoro et al. (2004). The emerged areas were
also included in the partitioning, being subdivided among
the three sub-basins depending on their location (Fig. 3).
The WFD water bodies are the partitioning adopted for
the LV by the management plan of the Hydrographic
district of Oriental Alps, according to the WFD (Autorità di
bacino dell’Adige et al., 2010) (Fig. 3). They belong to four
different water types: ‘‘euryhaline confined’’ (Palude
Maggiore), ‘‘polyhaline confined’’ (Val di Brenta, Teneri,
Millecampi Teneri and Dese), ‘‘euryhaline not confined’’
(Chioggia, Sacca Sessola, Lido, Centro Sud) and ‘‘polyhaline
not confined’’ (Tessera and Marghera). In addition, the
management plan identifies three ‘‘heavily modified’’
water bodies: Centro Storico, Valli Nord and Valli Centro-
Sud. It is important to point out that Valli Nord and Valli
Centro-Sud were classified as heavily modified water
bodies because they have been artificially enclosed in
order to allow traditional extensive aquaculture practices,
Fig. 3. WFD water bodies and three additional land zones (Islands, Sandbars and Mainland) used for the zonal analyses (adapted from Autorità di bacino
dell’Adige et al., 2010). The two bold red lines identify the three sub-basins, Northern, Central and Southern, according to Solidoro et al. (2004).
19
but that these modification are well harmonized with the
natural landscape and they do not compromise the
ecological state, which in fact is classified as ‘‘good’’ in
both water bodies. In this study, the land areas, which are
not covered by the WFD classification, were divided into
three additional classes: Islands, which includes all the
islands in the lagoon, Sandbars, which includes the
sandbars of Cavallino, Lido and Pellestrina, and Mainland,
which is constituted by the remaining land located at the
boundary of the lagoon (Fig. 3).
The zonal analyses was performed using the Zonal
Statistics as Table tool (ArcGIS Desktop 10.0), with the ESS
maps used as ‘‘value rasters’’, and the two partitionings
used separately as ‘‘zone dataset’’.
3. Results
3.1. Ecosystem services maps: provisioning and cultural
services
The maps of provisioning and cultural ESS are displayed
in Fig. 4.
With regards to provisioning services, most of the
products of the LV consist in seafood, which has been
classified in different ESS on the basis of the way it is
produced. Aquaculture is concentrated in 15 active ‘‘valli da
pesca’’, which cover about 10% of the study area. No class
3 was assigned to this service because the fish production
in the ‘‘valli da pesca’’ (68.2 kg/ha on average, according to
Pellizzato et al. (2006)) is much lower than the estimated
potential production (100–250 kg/ha) referred to the same
traditional extensive methods (Provincia di Venezia, 2009).
This underuse is probably due to the coexistence of other
activities (such as hunting farms) in the same areas. Clam,
20 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25

Fig. 4. Qualitative maps of provisioning and cultural ESS. Aquaculture (A). Fish and seafood: clams (the crosshatch indicates the clam harvesting concessions)
(B), fish (artisanal) (C). Wild food: birds (D), fish (recreational) (E). Crops (F). Recreation and tourism: tourism (G), recreational navigation (H). Knowledge systems:
education (I), tradition (L).
 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25
whose class 2 and 3 cover in total 15% of the study area, is
located in three broad zones of the lagoon: (1) the area in
front of the Chioggia inlet and the subtidal flats to the
south-west of the city of Chioggia; (2) the area in the
central part of the lagoon, including the subtidal flats
facing the industrial zone of Porto Marghera; and (3) the
area north-east of Venice, near the airport. Fish (artisanal)
occurs with higher values in the confined areas of the
northern and central-southern lagoon, and in front of the
Chioggia inlet. Fish (recreational) is concentrated in front of
the three inlets and in the main surrounding channels. In
addition to seafood, the LV provides the context for
agricultural and hunting activities (mainly targeting
wintering birds), which were addressed with the crops
and birds categories, respectively. Crops is mainly located
in the island of S.Erasmo, where agricultural practices are
carried out with traditional methods, and in the sandbar of
Cavallino, where practices are more intensive, often using
greenhouses. Birds is concentrated in the hunting farms,
which correspond to most of the ‘‘valli da pesca’’. Outside
the farms, the hunting blinds (over 600) are mostly located
in the internal parts of the lagoon.
With regards to cultural services, the LV provides a
unique context for touristic, recreational, educational and
traditional activities. Tourism presents the highest values in
the historical centre of Venice, followed by several other
islands in the LV, like Murano, Burano and Torcello, and the
sandbars of Cavallino, Lido and Pellestrina. These sites are
very small in terms of surface (only 7% of the study area) but
relevant in terms of attractive, resulting in very high
concentration of tourists in very small areas. Recreational
navigation interests most of the channels which branch
from the inlets to the inner parts of the lagoon, with higher
values in the channels merging into the Lido inlet. Education
is distributed throughout the LV, being particularly high in
Fig. 5. Qualitative maps of erosion regulation. Single mechanisms: biostabilization (A), reduction of wind driven resuspension (B), susceptibility to wind driven
erosion (C). Overall erosion regulation potential (D).
21
the portion of the lagoon which includes Venice and the
area to the north of it (including the islands of S.Erasmo,
Murano, Burano, Torcello and others), because of the
variety of habitats which can be observed, easily accessible
from the city centre. In addition, an important educational
role is played by the WWF oases of Alberoni and Valle
Averto, and by the LIPU oases of Ca’ Roman. Tradition is
widely distributed throughout the LV, with classes 2 and
3 covering 45% of the study area. The highest service
provision is concentrated in the surroundings of the city of
Venice and of the other major towns and villages of the
lagoon.
On the whole, the services whose medium and high
qualitative levels of supply present the most extensive
coverage of the study area are tradition, fish (artisanal),
education and birds.
3.2. Ecosystem services maps: erosion regulation
The overall map of erosion regulation potential, and the
maps of the three mechanisms concurring to produce it,
are presented in Fig. 5. The biostabilization mechanism
(Fig. 5A) has the highest values in front of the Pellestrina
sandbar, and in a smaller area facing the southern part of
the Lido sandbar, due to the colonization by seagrasses.
The intermediate-low values in some confined areas and in
the northern-central lagoon (in correspondence with the
Lido inlet) are due to the biostabilization produced by
benthic diatoms. Regarding the reduction of wind driven
resuspension (Fig. 5B), the leeward areas are mostly
concentrated in the northern part of the lagoon and in
the confined parts of the central-southern lagoon, where
the morphology of the lagoon is enriched with numerous
salt marshes and emerged land. Conversely, in the non-
confined areas of the central-southern lagoon, facing the
22 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25

Lido and Pellestrina sandbars, the wind is allowed to blow
with no obstacles over the water surface. In addition,
navigable channels have high potentials because, thanks to
their depth, they are ‘‘sheltered’’ from the erosive action of
the wind. With regards to susceptibility to wind driven
erosion (Fig. 5C), most of the lagoon is characterized by
‘‘medium’’ or ‘‘high’’ susceptibility, with these two classes
covering 44% and 36% of the water surfaces respectively
(‘‘valli da pesca’’ excluded). Fig. 5D shows the overall
estimated erosion regulation potential. Low potential for
erosion regulation mainly occurs in two big areas: the
central portion of the lagoon, delimited to the north by the

A Aquac.
3.00
Aquac. B
3.00
Eros. reg. 2.50 Clam Eros. reg. Clam
2.50
2.00 2.00
1.50 1.50
Trad. Fish (Art.) Trad. Fish (Art.)
1.00 1.00
0.50 0.50
0.00 0.00
Edu. Birds Edu. Birds

Recr. Nav. Fish (Recr.) Recr. Nav. Fish (Recr.)

Tourism Crops Tourism Crops

Centro_storico Valli_Nord Islands Mainland
Valli_CentroSud sandbars

C Aquac.
3.00
Aquac.
3.00 D
Eros. reg. 2.50 Clam Eros. reg. 2.50 Clam
2.00 2.00
1.50 1.50
Trad. Fish (Art.) Trad. Fish (Art.)
1.00 1.00
0.50 0.50
0.00 0.00
Edu. Birds Edu. Birds

Recr. Nav. Fish (Recr.)

Recr. Nav. Fish (Recr.)

Tourism Crops
Tourism Crops

Palude_Maggiore Dese Lido Centro_Sud

Millecampi_Teneri Chioggia

E Aquac.
3.00
Aquac.
3.00
F
Eros. reg. 2.50 Clam Eros. reg. 2.50 Clam
2.00 2.00
1.50 1.50
Trad. Fish (Art.) Trad. Fish (Art.)
1.00 1.00
0.50 0.50
0.00 0.00
Edu. Birds Edu. Birds

Recr. Nav. Fish (Recr.) Recr. Nav. Fish (Recr.)

Tourism Crops Tourism Crops

Tessera Sacca_Sessola
Teneri Val_di_Brenta
Marghera

Fig. 6. Spider diagrams representing the ESS provision in the WFD zones. ‘‘Heavily modified’’ water bodies (A); land zones (B); confined water bodies (C, E);
non-confined water bodies (D, F). Abbreviations: Aquac.: aquaculture; Fish (Art.): fish (artisanal); Fish (Recr.): fish (recreational); Recr. Nav.: recreational
navigation; Edu.: education; Trad.: tradition; Eros. reg.: erosion regulation.
 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25
city of Venice and to the south by the Oil channel, and the
area facing Campalto, northward respect to the city of
Venice. Erosion regulation in the northern lagoon and in
the confined areas of the central-southern lagoon is mainly
related to the presence of emerged structures (salt
marshes and land) which interrupt the wind fetch;
conversely, the areas facing the Pellestrina sandbar in
the southern lagoon are mainly stabilized thanks to the
presence of seagrasses.
3.3. Zonal analyses
The results of the zonal analyses by sub-basins indicate
that the SSB presents the highest values for provisioning
services, with the exception of aquaculture, birds and crops,
which are higher in the NSB. The NSB presents the highest
values for cultural services, particularly for education. The
erosion regulation potential presents similar values in the
three sub-basins, being slightly higher in the SSB and NSB.
The spider diagrams in Fig. 6 show the results of the zonal
analyses relative to the WFD partitioning. The analysis of the
patterns of ESS provision allows to identify some differences
and similarities among the zones. Regarding the heavily
modified zones, Valli Nord and Valli Centro-Sud present a very
similar pattern, characterized by the prevalence of birds,
aquaculture and tradition. Conversely, Centro Storico presents
a strong prevalence of cultural services, in particular
education. Regarding the land zones, crops is the major
provisioning ESS, with similar levels in the three zones.
Similar patterns are observed in Islands and Sandbars, where
education and tourism are prevailing, whereas crops and birds
play a major role in Mainland. Among the remaining water
bodies, the confined zones Palude Maggiore, Dese and
Millecampi Teneri have very similar patterns, which are
mainly characterized by fish (artisanal), tradition and erosion
regulation. In contrast, the two remaining confined zones,
Teneri and Val di Brenta, are less focused on fish (artisanal),
since other provisioning services (birds in the first, and clam
in the second) become more relevant. Tessera presents a
pattern which can be related with the three confined zones
Palude Maggiore, Dese and Millecampi Teneri, but here,
additionally, a dominant role is played by education. In the
three non-confined zones Lido, Centro Sud and Chioggia the
patterns are of roughly similar shape, but ‘‘shifted’’ towards
different directions: towards cultural services in the case of
Lido, which also shows higher values for erosion regulation
and fish (recreational), and towards fish and seafood ESS in the
case of Centro Sud. Chioggia generally has intermediate
values between the two. Sacca Sessola and Marghera have
similar patterns, with low overall provision. In both these
water bodies tradition and clams are the services with the
highest supply, whereas erosion regulation reaches the
lowest levels of all the water bodies.
4. Discussion and conclusions
In order to analyze the outcomes of this study it is
valuable to first dwell on the definition of ESS (see Section
1). The words ‘‘contributions’’ and ‘‘in combination with
other inputs’’ indicate that in addition to the ESS potential,
which originates from the ecosystem, some additional
23
input (i.e. non-ecosystem-based anthropogenic contribu-
tions) may be necessary for the ESS flow to take place
(Burkhard et al., 2014). This is especially true for many
provisioning and cultural services, where the human input
might be particularly important for the provision of the ESS
(e.g. fishing activities are needed to catch fish!). These
additional inputs must not lead to mix up ESS with
anthropogenic goods and services (i.e. goods and services
not related with the ecosystem structure and functioning),
which are surely very important in the LV (e.g. transporta-
tion/shipping and related activities, manufacture of goods
such as glass, and many others), but were not considered
here because they are independent of the ecosystem state
and functioning. On these regards it is important to
underline the contribution of the ecosystem to the ESS
analyzed in this study: target species for fishing and
aquaculture grow in the aquatic ecosystem; hydrodynamic
and ecological processes of the lagoon regulate the
functioning of the ‘‘valli da pesca’’; target bird species for
hunting activities depend on both aquatic an terrestrial
ecosystem; crops growth depends on energy and matter
cycling, which are functions of the ecosystem, and
furthermore, the location and particular soil characteristics
make the cultivation of particular crops possible; the
charm of visiting the cultural attractions of the islands
depends at least partially on the fact that they are located
in a beautiful environment (smelly water and algal blooms
would not be very pleasant); similarly, the presence of
natural channels and of attractive anchorage areas make
the lagoon ideal for recreational navigation, and the
landscape and the particular habitats of the lagoon, such
as salt marshes, sub-tidal and intertidal flats, along with
their flora and fauna, make the excursions in the lagoon
meaningful and enjoyable. Concerning erosion regulation,
the mechanisms which produce the ESS potential are
directly resulting from the functionality of the ecosystem.
The ESS patterns in the water bodies of the LV are the
result of the chain of interactions between drivers,
pressures and state of the ecosystem. The DPSIR cycle
can thus be seen as a key of interpretation for the
similarities and differences among the ESS patterns of
different water bodies.
Among the confined water bodies, the similar pattern of
Palude Maggiore, Dese and Millecampi Teneri can be related
to the low environmental pressures, with the exception of
artisanal fishing, which, being carried on with traditional
methods, can be seen as a sustainable pressure on the
environment. Conversely, the two remaining confined
zones, Teneri and Val di Brenta, are more anthropized water
bodies, influenced by industrial activities (in the case of
Teneri), and clam harvesting activities. The resulting
pressures affect the ecological state, which in fact is
reported to be ‘‘moderate’’ in Teneri (Autorità di bacino
dell’Adige et al., 2010). This situation is reflected by the
deviation of the ESS patterns from the more ‘‘pristine’’ ESS
pattern which characterizes the other three confined
zones.
The euryhaline not confined water bodies (Chioggia,
Sacca Sessola, Lido, Centro Sud) do not show a characteristic
ESS pattern, due to the high heterogeneity both within and
between these water bodies. Conversely, the similarity of
24 S. Rova et al. / Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 15 (2015) 13–25
the Sacca Sessola’s and Marghera’s ESS patterns seems to
reflect the negative classification of their state (‘‘moderate’’
ecological state was reported in both the zones, with
Marghera having also a ‘‘bad’’ chemical state (Autorità di
bacino dell’Adige et al., 2010)), which results from the
strong negative pressures exerted by industrial activities,
trade and clam harvesting activities.
Finally, the ESS patterns of the heavily modified water
bodies (Valli Nord, Valli Centro-Sud and Centro Storico)
reflect the purposes of their modifications: the dominance
of aquaculture, with its related traditional value (tradition),
and hunting activities (bird) in the case of Valli Nord and
Valli Centro-Sud; and the prevalence of cultural ESS in the
case of Centro Storico, which is related to the vicinity to the
historical centre of Venice.
The overall complexity of the LV human–environmen-
tal system calls for the analyses of multi-services-trade-
offs. The concept of ESS trade-offs points to the interactions
among ESS, highlighting that the maximization of a single
ESS can cause the provision of other ESS to decrease, thus
leading to a reduced overall ESS provision (Elmqvist et al.,
2011). Therefore, management strategies should consider
the entire set of ESS provided by the ecosystem and seek
for a balance among them, in order to maximize their
overall provision. This study sets the basis for such an
approach by putting a heterogeneous set of ESS together in
a common framework.
In conclusion, the observation of the LV from the ESS
perspective allows to identify a broad set of services,
whose uniqueness reflects the particular characteristics of
the lagoon. The seven ESS assessed in this study present a
complex spatial distribution, which has been qualitatively
represented in the maps by integrating the human and
environmental factors which concur to produce it. These
maps provide a first and easily understandable visualiza-
tion of the significant contribution that the lagoon
ecosystem is providing to the well-being of the people
living, working or simply visiting the LV. In addition, the
ESS patterns which have been drawn for the WFD water
bodies allow to identify similarities and differences among
these zones in terms of ESS provision. Such spatial
approach constitutes an initial step for further develop-
ments, which may include the assessment of a broader set
of regulating ESS, the upgrade to a quantitative or semi-
quantitative analysis, the analyses of multi-services-trade-
offs and the assessment of how different management
scenarios affect the provision of ESS.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Financial disclosure
This project has been funded with support from the
European Commission. This publication reflects the views
only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Magistrato alle Acque di
Venezia for providing the shapefiles of the lagoon of
Venice. We also sincerely thank all the people who helped
us to improve the work, in particular Stefano Lanzoni,
Adriano Sfriso, Chiara Facca, Elena Gissi, Matteo Zucchetta,
Davide Tagliapietra, Marco Sigovini, Filippo da Ponte,
Matteo Morgantin, and Daniele Curiel. We are also grateful
to the consortium of the Erasmus Mundus Master of
Science in Ecohydrology for giving us the opportunity to
conduct this research.
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