Details
- Mission objective
- Objective 1a - Protect and restore marine and coastal ecosystems and biodiversity
- Lighthouse
- Mediterranean Sea basin
- Sector
- Marine living resourcesEnvironmental protection and regeneration
- Topic(s)
- Aquatic plants and algaeBlue reforestationKelp forestRestoration
- Type of action
- Research and Innovation
- Solution type
- Knowledge sharing & capacity building
- Solution owner
- AFRIMED
- Country
- Italy
Description
This report proposes cystoseira-species-specific protocols to provide researchers and practitioners with information that is important to consider when restoring macroalgae in the Mediterranean Sea. Since the restoration of algal habitats is a complex task, the process is broken down into five steps. Active restoration, specifically recruitment-enhancement techniques, offers a viable approach for conservation, especially for species like Cystoseira barbata. This study successfully restored four Cystoseira populations using both in situ and ex situ techniques, with in situ being more cost-effective. After six years, the restored populations’ density and size structure closely resembled those of natural populations. These methods and success indicators could be applied to other macroalgal species, promoting biodiversity conservation.
