The accelerated global losses of seagrass meadows makes restoration increasingly important. This restoration study was conducted in a shallow Danish estuary and describes one of the rare examples of successful large-scale eelgrass Zostera marina restoration outside North America. A simplified 3-step site selection approach was successfully applied to locate an optimal site for large-scale transplantation. It consisted of (1) qualitative assessments of vegetation using aerial photos, (2) inspection of potential sites with assessments of stressor presence and potential growth conditions and (3) transplantation tests for a final assessment of site suitability and methodology. The large-scale transplantation was initiated at the test site with the highest shoot production. After transplantation, shoot densities developed rapidly, achieving a 70-fold increase in density after about 2 yr. A rapid edge expansion (0.32 m yr-1) of the transplanted area was detected using drone-based monitoring. Both the final shoot density and edge expansion were comparable to those of natural eelgrass patches in the estuary. Eelgrass-transplanted areas accumulated more fine sediment particles and organic C, N and P than adjacent unvegetated sediment. Burial of organic C, N and P in eelgrass-transplanted sediments was 33 ± 7.5, 6.6 ± 0.9 and 3.0 ± 0.5 g m-2 yr-1, respectively (mean ± SE). In addition, inorganic C and N were assimilated by eelgrass transplants at rates of 290 ± 22 and 12 ± 1.0 g m-2 yr-1, respectively. The results highlight that important ecosystem services are already restored 2 yr after successful eelgrass restoration.
Eutrophication is a key driver in the loss of marine ecosystems, and seagrass meadows are among the many ecosystems which have declined globally during the last decades. Seagrass restoration is being used worldwide in coastal areas to counteract the decline in areal extent and to promote biodiversity. This study assesses the spatial and temporal changes in benthic fauna composition after a successful large-scale eelgrass (Zostera marina) transplantation in Horsens Fjord, Denmark. Transplantation was done by anchoring individual shoots in the sediment. Subsequently, benthic fauna was compared among bare bottom (BB), transplanted eelgrass (TE) and a natural eelgrass (NE) meadow in Horsens Fjord. Species richness (S), abundance (N), Shannon-Wiener index (H’), Pielou’s evenness (J’) and biomass (B) of benthic fauna were significantly higher at TE and NE than at BB. S, H’ and J’ were not different between TE and NE, but N and B were. Furthermore, S, N and B showed significant year-to-year variation, with the highest values occurring the same year as peak eelgrass biomass at both TE and NE, and S, N and H’ correlated positively with dry eelgrass biomass. Increases in community parameters were achieved at TE at least 1 yr 2 mo after transplantation, and a higher diversity of feeding groups was found. However, the ecological status of fauna at TE was in a transition state towards that at NE, according to the Water Framework Directive. The fast succession of benthic fauna proved that successful large-scale transplantation of eelgrass can restore fauna communities very quickly.
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