Coasts

Abstract

Although coasts account for only 10 % of Earth’s land surface, they serve as home to two-thirds of the world’s human population. As population density and economic activity in the coastal zone increases, pressures on coastal ecosystems increase. Among the most important pressures are habitat conversion, land cover change, pollutant loads, and introduction of invasive species. It is thus relevant and important to have clear concepts of definitions of coast that can be applied in a range of disciplines.