Marine forests in Northern Portugal are making their mark as powerful allies in the ongoing war against climate change. Second, they have amazing potential to sequester vast amounts of carbon. Monocultures of Laminaria hyperborea and Saccorhiza polyschides provided substantial carbon sequestration in a recent study that highlighted biological carbon capture under our oceans as a promising ecosystem-based mitigation tool. They can sequester about 16.48 gigagrams (Gg) of carbon across 5,100 hectares. This area alone is larger than over 5,000 football fields. It highlights the incredible potential of these forests’ massive footprints in reducing and sequestering carbon.
The research is led by Francisco Arenas from the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) and João Franco from the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE). Together, their work complements other research that has produced important evidence of the ecological benefits these marine habitats provide. Combined with other studies on restoration, these findings underscore the critical and immediate need for proven and successful ecological restoration strategies. This is critical as the European Union moves ahead with its Nature Restoration Law.
The Significance of Kelp Forests
Kelp forests are increasingly recognized for their importance in carbon sequestration. They store nearly one-third of the carbon that all Portuguese marine plant habitats sequester annually. The Wildlife Society wrote about how this study underscored the vital importance of these forests. They represent, so far, 14% of the blue carbon registered in Portugal. This is a huge breakthrough in understanding the important role that marine forests can play in climate mitigation. Until now, blue carbon estimates were almost exclusively limited to marshes and seagrass beds.
These results highlight the important role that kelp forests play in supporting the biodiversity we need to support healthy ecosystems for generations. They store carbon, helping to fight climate change. The researchers have quantified the carbon stock, measuring the kelp extent, biomass, growth and carbon content to establish how much is stored. This work highlights eDNA as a previously overlooked but important driver of marine ecology.
“With the European Union’s Nature Restoration Law in its early stages of implementation, it is urgent to develop and implement effective ecological restoration techniques, particularly in habitats that are highly vulnerable but also have high potential for providing ecosystem services, such as marine forests.”
The northern coast of Portugal offers some of the best and quite possibly the only conditions in Europe that are favorable for the establishment of kelp forests. According to Arenas, these habitats are particularly prevalent in this region:
Unique Conditions on the Northern Coast
One of the biggest takeaways of the study is a warning about the compounding effects of constant environmental shifts. A phenomenon called tropicalization has recently been observed in the waters off Portugal. This phenomenon threatens the unique biodiversity found exclusively within these forests. It poses an equally dangerous risk to the essential ecological services they provide, including capturing and storing climate-wrecking carbon. Arenas stated:
“These habitats are common on the north coast of Portugal, where there are unique conditions for their development, and represent the southernmost frontier for some of the species found here.”
The study’s findings underscore the critical role of Pacific kelp forests. These creatures are relatively unfamiliar and underappreciated, but they yield substantial ecological and economic dividends for the state.
“A process of tropicalization has already been detected in Portuguese waters, which puts the associated biodiversity at risk, as well as the ecological services that these forests provide.”
The implications of this study are far-reaching. This study represents, for the first time, an assessment of the blue carbon value of Portuguese kelp forests. Provides hope for the future by setting the research agenda to figure out how to understand and protect these important ecosystems. The publication titled “Potential blue carbon in the fringe of Southern European Kelp forests” appears in Scientific Reports and serves as a crucial resource for scientists and policymakers alike.
Implications for Future Research and Conservation
Climate change is an ever-present danger to our marine sanctuaries. As with more terrestrial examples, it’s important to know exactly how kelp forests help in storing carbon. It paves the way for conservation strategies that prioritize these ecosystems, ensuring their longevity and functionality in mitigating climate change. Arenas noted:
As climate change continues to threaten marine environments, understanding the role of kelp forests in carbon storage becomes increasingly important. It paves the way for conservation strategies that prioritize these ecosystems, ensuring their longevity and functionality in mitigating climate change. Arenas noted:
“It was the first assessment of the value of blue carbon associated with kelp forests in Portugal.”