TY - JOUR

T1 - Using Artificial Seagrass for Promoting Positive Feedback Mechanisms in Seagrass Restoration

AU - Carus, Jana

AU - Arndt, Carmen

AU - Schröder, Boris

AU - Thom, Moritz

AU - Villanueva, Raúl

AU - Paul, Maike

N1 - Funding Information: This work was funded by MWK Lower Saxony Niedersächsisches Vorab as part of the collaborative project “SeaArt—Long term establishment of SEAgrass ecosystems through biodegradable ARTificial meadows,” funded by the Federal State of Lower Saxony” (Grant No. ZN3187) as well as by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (joint project “RELEEZE–RElease from Coastal SquEEZE”) (Grant No. 01LC1701). We acknowledge support by the Open Access Publication Funds of Technische Universität Braunschweig.

PY - 2021/8/3

Y1 - 2021/8/3

N2 - Worldwide, seagrass meadows are under threat. Consequently, there is a strong need for seagrass restoration to guarantee the provision of related ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and habitat provision. Seagrass often grows in vast meadows in which the presence of seagrass itself leads to a reduction of hydrodynamic energy. By modifying the environment, seagrass thus serves as foundation species and ecosystem engineer improving habitat quality for itself and other species as well as positively affecting its own fitness. On the downside, this positive feedback mechanism can render natural recovery of vanished and destroyed seagrass meadows impossible. An innovative approach to promote positive feedback mechanisms in seagrass restoration is to create an artificial seagrass (ASG) that mimics the facilitation function of natural seagrass. ASG could provide a window of opportunity with respect to suitable hydrodynamic and light conditions as well as sediment stabilization to allow natural seagrass to re-establish. Here, we give an overview of challenges and open questions for the application of ASG to promote seagrass restoration based on experimental studies and restoration trials and we propose a general approach for the design of an ASG produced from biodegradable materials. Considering positive feedback mechanisms is crucial to support restoration attempts. ASG provides promising benefits when habitat conditions are too harsh for seagrass meadows to re-establish themselves.

AB - Worldwide, seagrass meadows are under threat. Consequently, there is a strong need for seagrass restoration to guarantee the provision of related ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and habitat provision. Seagrass often grows in vast meadows in which the presence of seagrass itself leads to a reduction of hydrodynamic energy. By modifying the environment, seagrass thus serves as foundation species and ecosystem engineer improving habitat quality for itself and other species as well as positively affecting its own fitness. On the downside, this positive feedback mechanism can render natural recovery of vanished and destroyed seagrass meadows impossible. An innovative approach to promote positive feedback mechanisms in seagrass restoration is to create an artificial seagrass (ASG) that mimics the facilitation function of natural seagrass. ASG could provide a window of opportunity with respect to suitable hydrodynamic and light conditions as well as sediment stabilization to allow natural seagrass to re-establish. Here, we give an overview of challenges and open questions for the application of ASG to promote seagrass restoration based on experimental studies and restoration trials and we propose a general approach for the design of an ASG produced from biodegradable materials. Considering positive feedback mechanisms is crucial to support restoration attempts. ASG provides promising benefits when habitat conditions are too harsh for seagrass meadows to re-establish themselves.

KW - artificial seagrass

KW - biodegradable

KW - ecosystem restoration

KW - positive feedback mechanisms

KW - seagrass sediment light feedback

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113165409&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fmars.2021.546661

DO - 10.3389/fmars.2021.546661

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85113165409

VL - 8

JO - Frontiers in Marine Science

JF - Frontiers in Marine Science

SN - 2296-7745

M1 - 546661

ER -