Restoration of <i>Cymodocea nodosa</i> seagrass meadows: efficiency and ecological implications

Ros, Zaira Da; Corinaldesi, Cinzia; Dell’Anno, Antonio; Gambi, Cristina; Torsani, Fabrizio; Danovaro, Roberto

doi:10.1111/rec.13313

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A recurring issue with regard to the literature dealing with seagrass restoration in the Mediterranean Sea is that the bulk of the literature deals with techniques, describes experiences on a very local scale, and only concerns the short term [125]: one year [106,125,208,215,222,234,236,241,270], two years [22,209,217,223,224,231,232], three years [124,210,235,256], four years [55,183,242,274], or five years [194], rarely longer [211,212]. The longest monitoring survey (17 to 24 years) does not concern a restoration operation but rather a scientific study of the morphological characters of strains coming from 11 Mediterranean regions (mainland Spain, Balearic Islands, French Catalonia, French Riviera, Corsica, Italy, Malta, Greece, Turkey, and Algeria) and transplanted at the same site in the Port-Cros National Park (Provence) [211].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar plugs, 20 cm in diameter, together with individual rhizomes, were used in Venice Lagoon (Italy) to transplant C. nodosa, Z. marina, and Z. noltei [85,223,232,233]. Near Ancona (Adriatic Sea, Italy), plugs of Cymodocea nodosa were placed within biodegradable bags and containers [234].…”

Section: The Digging Of Holes In Which Blocks Of Matte Are Placed and Similar Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Restoration of Seagrass Meadows in the Mediterranean Sea: A Critical Review of Effectiveness and Ethical Issues

Boudouresque

Blanfuné

Pergent

et al. 2021

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Some species of seagrasses (e.g., Zostera marina and Posidonia oceanica) have declined in the Mediterranean, at least locally. Others are progressing, helped by sea warming, such as Cymodocea nodosa and the non-native Halophila stipulacea. The decline of one seagrass can favor another seagrass. All in all, the decline of seagrasses could be less extensive and less general than claimed by some authors. Natural recolonization (cuttings and seedlings) has been more rapid and more widespread than was thought in the 20th century; however, it is sometimes insufficient, which justifies transplanting operations. Many techniques have been proposed to restore Mediterranean seagrass meadows. However, setting aside the short-term failure or half-success of experimental operations, long-term monitoring has usually been lacking, suggesting that possible failures were considered not worthy of a scientific paper. Many transplanting operations (e.g., P. oceanica) have been carried out at sites where the species had never previously been present. Replacing the natural ecosystem (e.g., sandy bottoms, sublittoral reefs) with P. oceanica is obviously inappropriate in most cases. This presupposes ignorance of the fact that the diversity of ecosystems is one of the bases of the biodiversity concept. In order to prevent the possibility of seagrass transplanting from being misused as a pretext for further destruction, a guide for the proper conduct of transplanting is proposed.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Digging Of Holes In Which Blocks Of Matte Are Placed and Similar Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of Seagrass Meadows in the Mediterranean Sea: A Critical Review of Effectiveness and Ethical Issues

Boudouresque

Blanfuné

Pergent

et al. 2021

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Reported are: (1) example of the restoration of seagrass meadows (upper section); (2) restoration of algal forests and assemblages on hard bottoms (mid section); restoration of deep-sea habitats (lower section). biodegradable containers and supports (Temmink et al 2020;Da Ros et al 2021) and of the innovative deployment of coral by-catch for cold-water coral transplants (Montseny et al 2020).…”

Section: From Challenges To Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This issue highlights the outcomes of restoration actions on seagrass meadows (Cymodocea nodosa), with special attention to efficiency, effectiveness, and ecological implications (Da Ros et al 2021). This issue also includes an extensive analysis of ecosystem effects of seagrass recovery in terms of impacts to ecosystem services using a food web model approach (Horn et al 2021).…”

Section: Marine Ecosystem Restoration Today and In The Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Marine ecosystem restoration in a changing ocean

Danovaro

Aronson

Cimino

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multiple human impacts on natural ecosystems cause ongoing widespread habitat loss, with consequent decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Seas and oceans, the largest biomes of the biosphere, show increasing numbers of degraded habitats. Ecological restoration offers a major tool to reverse this trend and recover biodiversity, along with human health and wellbeing. The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration promotes global-scale restoration of degraded habitats and we can exploit lessons learned from terrestrial restoration projects to improve and accelerate marine ecosystem restoration science, practice, and policy. Nonetheless, major differences in land and sea limit direct transfer of terrestrial approaches. Limited ecosystem baselines, greater stochasticity and connectivity, longer timescales needed for effective restoration, associated high costs and advanced technologies required to access and intervene in marine environments (especially in the deep sea), and difficulty in scaling up restoration efforts all hinder the effectiveness and expansion of marine ecosystem restoration. Pilot actions in European waters over ca 5 years in the EU-funded MERCES consortium (Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas) have identified and developed new, promising tools and strategies to catalyze restoration actions, including engagement of funding organizations, governmental bodies, scientists, and citizens. We are now better positioned to implement restoration actions on a wide range of protected, vulnerable, and critical marine habitats, including seagrass meadows, algal forests, shallow rocky shore, and even some deep-sea habitats. Outcomes from the MERCES project support future restoration initiatives by demonstrating restoration potential in the marine environment.

show abstract

“…Seagrass has historically been found in temperate and subtropical oceans around the world, but its distribution has been significantly impacted by direct and indirect human activity (e.g., dredging, pollution). Seagrass beds are ecologically important marine habitats (Boudouresque et al, 2021;da Ros et al, 2021) that stabilize sandy substrates through the binding effects of their roots and rhizomes and, through the hydrodynamic buffering capabilities of their leaves, dissipate wave energy, tidal currents and storm surges (Fonseca, 1994;Reidenbach and Thomas, 2018;Montgomery et al, 2019). A dense seagrass meadow is able to reduce wave height by 40% during storm events (Ondiviela et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Nourishment: An Innovative Nature-Based Solution for Coastal Erosion

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coastal erosion poses an urgent threat to life and property in low-lying regions. Sand nourishment is increasingly used as a nature-based solution but requires significant natural resources and replenishment over time. In this study, a novel form of nourishment is explored that combines shoreface nourishment and seagrass restoration to mitigate coastal erosion (i.e., green nourishment). Using the coastal morphodynamic model Xbeach, the impact of seagrass planting on wave energy dissipation, sediment erosion and transport, and morphological evolution of a cross-shore profile was studied for mild wave conditions and an intense storm. Model results indicate that a seagrass meadow enhances the wave energy dissipation provided by a shoreface nourishment, and suggests that it may be particularly effective in sediment transport mitigation when implemented in a sheltered nearshore area. The shoreface nourishment reduced the wave height on the seagrass meadow, and reduced the rate of seagrass destruction by deposition or erosion above the grass height after the storm event. Green nourishment also reduced beach foreshore erosion caused by a simulated storm event. An alternative, more cost-effective planting technique using seagrass seeds was explored, which showed similar coastal erosion protection benefits for seagrass transplants. This modeling study found that green nourishment is potentially an effective nature-based solution for coastal erosion and flooding on sandy coasts, and future studies are recommended to evaluate its morphological, ecological and flood risk reduction benefits in the field.

show abstract

Restoration of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows: efficiency and ecological implications

Cited by 20 publications

References 63 publications

Restoration of Seagrass Meadows in the Mediterranean Sea: A Critical Review of Effectiveness and Ethical Issues

Restoration of Seagrass Meadows in the Mediterranean Sea: A Critical Review of Effectiveness and Ethical Issues

Marine ecosystem restoration in a changing ocean

Green Nourishment: An Innovative Nature-Based Solution for Coastal Erosion

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About