[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/13577\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESea of possibilities: the underwater gardeners restoring marine forests\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeneath the deep blue waters of Tenerife lies a dramatic seascape shaped by ancient volcanic eruptions. Submerged lava tubes and jagged basalt formations create an underwater world unlike any other.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis unique marine environment, just off Spain\u2019s Canary Islands, teems with life. Divers may encounter endangered sea turtles, graceful eagle rays, elusive sharks, and even whales. Remarkably, one third of all marine mammal species on Earth have been spotted around Tenerife.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEquipped with professional scuba diving gear, marine biologist Isabelle Peeters glides through these waters, which are some of the clearest she has ever seen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPeeters is a senior marine biologist who is helping organise and lead diving trips to carefully collect samples and data from the ocean floor as part of an EU-funded research initiative called OCEAN CITIZEN.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMarine forests\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOCEAN CITIZEN brings together leading research experts and ocean conservation specialists from Denmark, Germany, France, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir work, which will run until the end of 2026, focuses specifically on the regeneration of marine forests \u2013 underwater areas populated by seagrass, seaweed, sponge grounds, corals and soft corals called gorgonians.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe have reached a point where conservation alone may not be enough.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EIsabelle Peeters, OCEAN CITIZEN\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGiven the state of the world and the environmental degradation we are witnessing, we have reached a point where conservation alone may not be enough,\u201d said Peeters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EActive restoration of underwater life is, therefore, what the OCEAN CITIZEN team is focusing its efforts on.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir goal is to develop a flexible, scalable model to regenerate, protect and manage\u0026nbsp;marine forests\u0026nbsp;across five pilot sites in\u0026nbsp;the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Barents Sea and the Inner Danish Waters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENot unlike forests on land, marine forests are rich, complex ecosystems that support a wide variety of life. These diverse marine habitats have a crucial role in maintaining ocean biodiversity and resilience. They also play an important role in the environment by helping store carbon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMarine forests aren\u2019t just clusters of species living side by side \u2013 they are built on intricate biological relationships,\u201d said Spanish marine biologist and environmental educator Juanita Zorrilla-Pujana.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETipping point\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile crucial for life as we know it, these underwater ecosystems have been significantly damaged by human activity and global warming.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur oceans are under stress,\u201d said Zorrilla-Pujana, who is the science communication officer for OCEAN CITIZEN. \u201cFor centuries, we have taken everything from the ocean and given nothing back except for plastics and pollution.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESergio Rossi, a marine scientist at the University of Salento in Lecce, Italy, and coordinator of the OCEAN CITIZEN team, also stressed that we are in a time of profound ecological change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSpecies that have been here for millennia are disappearing.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis shift results in biodiversity loss, depleted resources, and a breakdown of complex food webs, endangering communities that rely on fisheries. In addition, marine forests, which act as natural barriers against storms and extreme weather, are disappearing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is a huge problem, and we cannot foresee what the implications might be in a few years or decades,\u201d Rossi warned.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFast action needed\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking at their five pilot sites, the OCEAN CITIZEN team has been studying different ecozones at depths ranging from 25 metres all the way down to 100 metres below sea level.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir aim is to better understand the ecosystems, but also to design effective solutions to restore and protect the local marine forests in a range of conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EOur goal is to accelerate the restoration of these marine forests and create the right conditions for them to expand.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003ESergio Rossi, OCEAN CITIZEN\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBecause it is not just about placing a piece of coral in the water. It\u2019s much more complex,\u201d said Zorrilla-Pujana.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach location has faced its own specific challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Denmark, the removal of millions of stones from underwater habitats has left some areas without substrate for species to settle on. The seas of Norway are struggling with a rise in sea urchin populations, which devour everything in their path.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Spain, the waters are being polluted to such a degree that protected turtles can be seen swimming through dark sewage water, said Peeters, who is based in Tenerife and has witnessed the troubling situation firsthand.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Rossi, it is clear that the degradation is happening so fast that we need to act quickly. \u201cOur goal is to accelerate the restoration of these marine forests and create the right conditions for them to expand in areas where they are already established.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECitizens as underwater gardeners\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, restoring the ocean\u2019s forests is a huge endeavour that scientists cannot tackle alone. That is why the OCEAN CITIZEN team is enlisting the help of not just marine biologists and professional divers, but also local communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe initiative introduces the concept of \u201cgardeners of the sea\u201d \u2013 community members who actively support restoration projects. Some will dive to \u201cplant\u201d marine life on the seabed, while others will help nurture organisms on land in aquariums.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond the ecological benefits, this approach should also help boost local economies. In Tenerife, for instance, a business model is being developed where tourist participation helps finance restoration activities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarine forests could also serve as natural carbon sinks. While the precise carbon capture potential is still being studied, Rossi estimates it could range from 1.5 to 5 tonnes of carbon per hectare annually.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETransplantation and artificial reefs\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter two years of data collection and evaluation, the OCEAN CITIZEN team is now moving on to its next step: actively restoring its pilot sites.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDivers like Isabelle Peeters will begin transplanting macroalgae, seagrass, gorgonians and black corals. In parallel, custom-designed artificial reefs will be installed to support regrowth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy 2026, the OCEAN CITIZEN team aims to have established a flexible, replicable set of protocols to guide future restoration efforts across Europe and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStill, as Zorrilla-Pujana pointed out, \u201cthe ocean is the mirror of human actions over the course of centuries. Our work is just one piece of a much larger solution.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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