Study on evaluation indicator system of deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining impact on benthos
Deep-sea minerals are important potential sources to meet global demand for metals.However,deep-sea ecosystems are fragile,and large-scale deep-sea mining will exert great pressure on the sea bottom ecosystem,which may lead to major changes in the structure and function of the entire deep-sea ecosystem for a long time.Therefore,the impact assessment of deep-sea mining on benthos is an import issue of environmental impact assess-ment of mining activities.How to effectively identify the groups of benthos and their characterization indicators that are significantly affected by disturbance is the key to improve the scientificity of the environmental impact assess-ment results of deep-sea mining.Based on 125 indicators for benthos investigation and evaluation in polymetallic nodule mining areas at home and abroad,an indicator system including 36 indices for the impact assessment of deep-sea mining on benthos is constructed using the biblimetrical method and expert evaluation method in this study.The indicator system includes seven categories of deep-sea benthos,among which indices of megafauna,macrofauna,and meiofauna covering 66.7%of all indices which reflect four levels of"community","population","diversity"and"connectivity"of the bottom ecosystem.Here,traditional species taxonomy indicators and molecu-lar biology indicators are selected,the hot topics of"diversity","biodiversity","community","abundance"and"benthic foraminifera"in domestic and international researches highlighted and the significance of indicator organ-isms also emphasized.This indicator system has strong scientificity,feasibility and ecosystem integrity and it can provide both scientific operational indicators for environmental impact assessment in deep-sea mining.
万方数据
维普
