Habitat mapping is essential for the management and conservation of coastal marine habitats. However, accurate and up-to-date habitat maps are rarely available for the marine realm. In this study, we mapped the coastal marine habitats of >400 km of coastline in the north-western United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a combination of data sources including remote sensing, extensive ground-truthing points, local expert knowledge and existing information. We delineated 17 habitats, including critical habitats for marine biodiversity such as coral reefs and mangroves, and previously unreported oyster beds and deep seagrasses. This innovative approach was able to produce a coastal marine habitat map with an overall accuracy of 77%. The approach allowed for the production of a spatial tool well-suited for the needs of environmental management and conservation in a previously data-deficient area of the United Arab Emirates.

栖息地测绘对于沿海海洋生境的管理和保护至关重要。但是，对于海洋领域而言，很少有准确且最新的栖息地地图。在这项研究中，我们使用包括遥感，广泛的地面真相点，本地专家知识和现有信息在内的数据源组合，绘制了阿拉伯联合酋长国西北部（UAE）海岸线> 400 km的沿海海洋栖息地。我们划定了17个栖息地，其中包括海洋生物多样性的重要栖息地，例如珊瑚礁和红树林，以及以前未报告的牡蛎床和深海草。这种创新方法能够绘制出沿海海洋生境图，总体准确度达到77％。