Landsat historical records reveal large-scale dynamics and enduring recovery of seagrasses in an impacted seascape.

Seagrasses are considered indicators of anthropogenic impact but surprisingly little is known about their temporal and spatial dynamics in impacted seascapes. In this study, we used three decades of Landsat imagery (1988-2018) off the coast of Adelaide, South Australia, to investigate how seagrass cover over 501 km responds to changes in land-based inputs, including breakpoints in system trajectory and associated timelags, and the identification of vulnerable meadows. Field data was used to help train benthic classification of summer imagery and define its accuracy.