sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Advances in Seagrass Ecosystem Restoration

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Oceans".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 3374

Special Issue Editor

LifeWatch ERIC and CESAM, Dept. of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: estuarine and marine ecology; ecological restoration; global changes; intertidal communities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Worldwide, seagrasses are fundamental niche providers that, due to high productivity and complex physical structure, can support large stocks of biomass, which often result in increased diversity. Therefore, seagrass meadows are included amongst the most productive habitats, providing high-value ecosystem services. Their contribution to the retention of atmospheric carbon on aquatic systems are estimated to reach 20% of the total oceanic blue carbon, despite covering only 0.2% of the available area. Particularly in intertidal areas, these meadows can act as thermal buffers of the sediment underneath. Also, they are known to be important nurseries for fish species, including commercial explored species, or support several valued shellfish and other invertebrate species. Other relevant functions include the retention of particulate organic matter and nutrients from the water column, mitigation of ocean acidification, by consuming CO2 on photosynthetic processes, or costal protection by sediment stabilization. There is also a cultural and touristic value, allowing recreational activities related with nature. Nevertheless, these fundamental services and functions are highly threatened due to human activities. There is a consistent reduction in the areas of these meadows, recorded at least since the second half of the 18th century.

Despite these global losses in seagrasses coverage, there is potential to invert this tendency. Seagrasses ecosystem restoration is starting to be regarded as a viable green and blue tool, improving the resilience of coastal ecosystems and the maintenance of important ecosystem services and functions they provide. Therefore, these ecosystems must be regarded as fundamental to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 13 (Climate Action) and 14 (Life Below Water). Several methods could be used to invert the global tendency of seagrass decline, and the results could be highly diversified. It is fundamental to report those results, and therefore, this Special Issue is expected to gather some examples, either successful or not, and became a guide for future attempts of seagrass restoration.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Case studies
  • Field and laboratory assays
  • Methodologies
  • Economical and regulatory issues
  • Reports on increase and reduction on seagrass coverage
  • Interactions between species

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Daniel Crespo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecosystem restoration
  • sustainable development goals
  • aquatic habitats
  • carbon retention
  • ecosystem engineers
  • mitigation of anthropogenic stressors
  • habitat heterogeneity

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 2316 KiB  
Article
Less Is More: Seagrass Restoration Success Using Less Vegetation per Area
by Carolina V. Mourato, Nuno Padrão, Ester A. Serrão and Diogo Paulo
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12937; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712937 - 28 Aug 2023
Viewed by 924
Abstract
Seagrass restoration in open coast environments presents unique challenges. Traditional sod transplant designs, though relatively successful in these environments, are impractical for large-scale restoration due to high biomass requirements. Here, we develop the checkers design, which aims to optimise the usage of biomass [...] Read more.
Seagrass restoration in open coast environments presents unique challenges. Traditional sod transplant designs, though relatively successful in these environments, are impractical for large-scale restoration due to high biomass requirements. Here, we develop the checkers design, which aims to optimise the usage of biomass by transplanting fewer sods in a checkerboard pattern. We established six plots (9 m2 each) for each species (Zostera marina and Zostera noltei), with 25 sods in each plot. The area, percent cover, density, and leaf length were measured at 1, 6, and 12 months. The plots located on the seaward end of the transplant design vanished over the winter, suggesting location-dependent survival influenced by winter storms. Nevertheless, both species exhibited increased percentages of cover, density, and vegetated area after one year, with variations between species. Z. noltei showed a slower expansion but greater resilience to winter, while Z. marina displayed a higher density and cover over the first 6 months but experienced area loss during the winter. Despite these differences, both species survived and increased vegetated areas after one year, indicating the viability and promise of the checkers method for large-scale restoration. However, careful consideration of location or storm-mitigating measures is essential for the successful implementation of this method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Seagrass Ecosystem Restoration)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1790 KiB  
Article
Salinity-Induced Extinction of Zostera marina in Lake Grevelingen? How Strong Habitat Modification May Require Introduction of a Suitable Ecotype
by Marieke M. van Katwijk, Rens J. T. Cronau, Leon P. M. Lamers, Pauline Kamermans, Brigitta I. van Tussenbroek and Dick J. de Jong
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3472; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043472 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
During the 1980s–1990s, 4600 hectares of the seagrass Zostera marina were permanently lost from Lake Grevelingen (the Netherlands), and restoration is planned. In 1971, the lake was fully marine (salinity 30), and seagrass covered 1300 hectares. After closure in that year, the lake [...] Read more.
During the 1980s–1990s, 4600 hectares of the seagrass Zostera marina were permanently lost from Lake Grevelingen (the Netherlands), and restoration is planned. In 1971, the lake was fully marine (salinity 30), and seagrass covered 1300 hectares. After closure in that year, the lake gradually became brackish (salinity of 23 by 1978), and the meadows expanded to 4600 hectares. However, with the creation of a sluice connection to the sea in 1978, the lake returned to marine conditions and a fatal decline initiated. We revisit traditionally suggested causes of the disappearance of the seagrass, finding them unsatisfactory. We hypothesize that during the lower salinity conditions from 1971 to 1978, selection of low-salinity genotypes occurred, and these genotypes were not adapted to returning marine conditions. This hypothesis is no longer testable through genetic analysis in Lake Grevelingen but is supported by previously unpublished experiments that found a lack of seed germination at even moderately high salinity for the now extinct population. Such processes could be relevant for, and tested in, environmentally modified water systems worldwide, particularly when isolated. Based on our assessment, the abiotic environment of Lake Grevelingen seems suitable for Z. marina restoration using a donor from a high salinity environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Seagrass Ecosystem Restoration)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop