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Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc
2022 Aug 01;974:1449-1475. doi: 10.1111/brv.12850.
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Global kelp forest restoration: past lessons, present status, and future directions.
Eger AM
,
Marzinelli EM
,
Christie H
,
Fagerli CW
,
Fujita D
,
Gonzalez AP
,
Hong SW
,
Kim JH
,
Lee LC
,
McHugh TA
,
Nishihara GN
,
Tatsumi M
,
Steinberg PD
,
Vergés A
.
Abstract
Kelp forest ecosystems and their associated ecosystem services are declining around the world. In response, marine managers are working to restore and counteract these declines. Kelp restoration first started in the 1700s in Japan and since then has spread across the globe. Restoration efforts, however, have been largely disconnected, with varying methodologies trialled by different actors in different countries. Moreover, a small subset of these efforts are 'afforestation', which focuses on creating new kelp habitat, as opposed to restoring kelp where it previously existed. To distil lessons learned over the last 300 years of kelp restoration, we review the history of kelp restoration (including afforestation) around the world and synthesise the results of 259 documented restoration attempts spanning from 1957 to 2020, across 16 countries, five languages, and multiple user groups. Our results show that kelp restoration projects have increased in frequency, have employed 10 different methodologies and targeted 17 different kelp genera. Of these projects, the majority have been led by academics (62%), have been conducted at sizes of less than 1 ha (80%) and took place over time spans of less than 2 years. We show that projects are most successful when they are located near existing kelp forests. Further, disturbance events such as sea-urchin grazing are identified as regular causes of project failure. Costs for restoration are historically high, averaging hundreds of thousands of dollars per hectare, therefore we explore avenues to reduce these costs and suggest financial and legal pathways for scaling up future restoration efforts. One key suggestion is the creation of a living database which serves as a platform for recording restoration projects, showcasing and/or re-analysing existing data, and providing updated information. Our work establishes the groundwork to provide adaptive and relevant recommendations on best practices for kelp restoration projects today and into the future.
Fig. 1. Location and timeline of important global kelp restorationârelated events.
Fig. 2. Descriptive results showing ecological success (darker shade) or failure (lighter shade) of kelp restoration (blue) and afforestation (green) projects completed to date (N) by: (A) year the restoration project commenced; (B) main method used for restoration; (C) size of restoration project; and (D) genus restored. Full details of the included studies are provided in Appendix S4.
Fig. 3. Relationship between kelp survival and project proximity to an existing kelp forest including the same species.
Fig. 4. Descriptive results of projects identified in the Japanese literature search: (A) main method used for restoration; (B) year the restoration project commenced; (C) taxon restored; and (D) initial cause of decline. No information about project outcomes was available. Sample sizes differ as not all data were recorded for each entry.
Fig. 5. Methods used in kelp forest restoration (photograph credits, left to right, top to bottom: Operation Crayweed, FIRA, Ryan Miller, FIRA, NOAA, Green Gravel, FIRA, NIVA, University of Tasmania, Urchinomics, Pixabay).
Fig. 6. Reported costs per hectare of restoring kelp populations according to the method used. Note that the yâaxis is plotted on a logarithmic scale. Red triangles are mean values, which are also given in USD (2020) above each column.
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