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Ecological status of seagrass ecosystems: An uncertainty analysis of the meadow classification based on the Posidonia oceanica multivariate index (POMI)
► We compare the precision of two Spanish seagrass monitoring indices among five factors. ► Sampling at variable depths lead to high uncertainty in meadow health classification. ► Uncertainty across multiple spatial and temporal scales was low. ► Simpler POMI 9 index performed equally well as POMI 14 and offers future alternative.
Quantifying the uncertainty associated with monitoring protocols is essential to prevent the misclassification of ecological status and to improve sampling design. We assessed the Posidonia oceanica multivariate index (POMI) bio-monitoring program for its robustness in classifying the ecological status of coastal waters within the Water Framework Directive. We used a 7-year data set covering 30 sites along 500km of the Catalonian coastline to examine which version of POMI (14 or 9 metrics) maximises precision in classifying the ecological status of meadows. Five factors (zones within a site, sites within a water body, depth, years and surveyors) that potentially generate classification uncertainty were examined in detail. Of these, depth was a major source of uncertainty, while all the remaining spatial and temporal factors displayed low variability. POMI 9 matched POMI 14 in all factors, and could effectively replace it in future monitoring programs.