Restoration Objective:
Given the essential function of macroalgal beds on rocky shores, much attention has been focused on effective methods to restore seaweed habitat on damaged rocky coastal ecosystems. The decline of S. thunbergii from extensive coastal areas highlights the urgent need to design effective strategies for restoration. This study aimed to develop restoration techniques for this species.
Site Selection Criteria:
Around the Xiaoheishan Island, five intertidal sites were selected where some patches of S. thunbergii were present in intertidal rock pools. The naturally growing thalli in the nearby rockpools were used as reference plants.
Cause Of Decline:
Rocky shore seaweed beds provide crucial habitats and spawning grounds for a wide variety of marine organisms and are an essential source of carbon for complex food webs in the rocky coastal ecosystems. However, these ecosystems have been severely affected by many anthropogenic activities, such as land reclamation, nutrient pollution, over exploitation and climate change. Consequently, many naturally occurring macroalgal beds have been seriously degraded in a number of coastal areas globally.
Key Reasons For Decline:
Multiple
Scientific Paper
Establishment of intertidal seaweed beds of Sargassum thunbergii through habitat creation and germling seeding
Ecological Engineering, Vol. 44.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.03.016
