Marine space ecology and seagrasses. Does patch type matter in Posidonia oceanica seascapes?

The use of landscape tools in the study of seagrass meadows (seascapes) begins to be widely spreadbut still require the establishment of several basis, i.e. a patch type classification based on numericalcharacteristics. Thanks to the complex seascapes created by the Posidonia oceanica meadows, they appearto be suitable for a study at a patch type level (class), which bring a new insight of their arrangement at thewhole seascape scale. By interpreting side scan sonar images from the Corsican coast (France) through aGIS software, it was possible to describe 11 types of patches and to evaluate their natural or anthropogenicorigin. Comparison of different landscape metrics and wave exposure (Relative wave Exposure Index,REI) at the seascape and the patch level showed that the particularity of P. oceanica seascapes are mainlycharacterized by certain types of patches often of anthropogenic origin. Furthermore the REI seems not tobe a relevant index for a study at a class scale. A bathymetrical succession of natural patches was outlinedfrom the lower to the upper limit of the meadow, with a long-term dynamic opposed to a shorter oneconcerning anthropogenic patches. In order to assess the origin (natural or induced by human activities)of the patches in P. oceanica meadows, as well as in any other seagrass, a Patchiness Source Index (PaSI),ranging from 0 to 1, was defined.