Seagrass and kelp as nature-based solutions: CA lawmakers take aim at ocean acidification based on new report
Leave a Comment- Seagrass and kelp may be quite beneficial for reducing the impacts of ocean acidification, especially in California’s bays
- Restoring or preserving seagrass and kelp is a win-win measure that would also bring a number of other benefits including providing habitat for many marine species, including economically important fisheries like crab and moderating wave impacts, protecting coastlines from storms.
- Hill showed that sediment inside seagrass meadows can contain up to two times as much organic carbon as habitats without vegetation; in summer months, the presence of seagrass can make water significantly less acidic, changing water chemistry up to 0.1 pH units.
February 26, 2018 Read CA Seagrant article here
Seaweeds and seagrasses have potential to mitigate some effects of ocean acidification, according to a new report presented to the California state legislature earlier this month. The report was supported by the Ocean Protection Council. California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Joe Tyburczy, who is based at Humboldt State University, served on the working group that wrote the report.
“The major take-home message in the report is that seagrass and kelp may be quite beneficial for reducing the impacts of ocean acidification, especially in California’s bays,” Tyburczy says. While many details remain to be studied, the researchers say that restoring or preserving seagrass and kelp is a win-win measure that would also bring a number of other benefits. For example, seagrass meadows are important habitat for many marine species, including economically important fisheries like crab. Kelp and seagrasses can also moderate wave impacts, protecting coastlines from storms.
“There are many reasons we’d want to restore or preserve seagrass meadows. The potential of seagrasses to remove carbon from the water is just icing on the cake,” says University of California, Davis scientist Tessa Hill, who has conducted related research on the topic.
…In her California Sea Grant-funded research in Tomales Bay, California, Hill showed that sediment inside seagrass meadows can contain up to two times as much organic carbon as habitats without vegetation. She also found that in summer months, the presence of seagrass can make water significantly less acidic, changing water chemistry up to 0.1 pH units.
The results of the project were so promising that they led to a larger project to expand the research across the state, and also compare seagrass meadows that were restored rather than native.
The idea of a nature-based solution with multiple benefits sounded good to policymakers who are working on strategies to address ocean acidification. The question will be when, where, and how to prioritize seagrass restoration and protection. That’s where current research aims to fill the gaps…..