Economic losses related to the reduction of Posidonia ecosystem services in the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea).

In the early XXth century, the Gulf of Gabes in SE Tunisia used to host the most extended Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds in the Mediterranean basin and was a highly productive hotspot of benthic species. Since the 70's, >500 million t of wet toxic phosphogypsum discharges from a fertilizer industrial complex have led to the gradual loss of ∼90 % of its initial surface. This drastic shrinkage is accompanied by significant value losses originated from the direct and indirect-use services of which the most important ones are small scale fisheries and carbon storage function.